Earthquake

What is an earthquake and what causes them to happen?

An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault. Stresses in the earth's outer layer push the sides of the fault together. Stress builds up and the rocks slips suddenly, releasing energy in waves that travel through the earth's crust and cause the shaking that we feel during an earthquake. An EQ occurs when plates grind and scrape against each other. In California there are two plates the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. The Pacific Plate consists of most of the Pacific Ocean floor and the California Coast line. The North American Plate comprises most the North American Continent and parts of the Atlantic Ocean floor. These primary boundary between these two plates is the San Andreas Fault. The San Andreas Fault is more than 650 miles long and extends to depths of at least 10 miles. Many other smaller faults like the Hayward (Northern California) and the San Jacinto (Southern California) branch from and join the San Andreas Fault Zone. The Pacific Plate grinds northwestward past the North American Plate at a rate of about two inches per year. Parts of the San Andreas Fault system adapt to this movement by constant "creep" resulting in many tiny shocks and a few moderate earth tremors. In other areas where creep is NOT constant, strain can build up for hundreds of years, producing great EQs when it finally releases.

Earthquake Facts & Statistics

Fact Sheet 01: Frequency of Occurrence of Earthquakes

Descriptor	Magnitude	Average Annually
Great	8 and higher	1 ¹
Major	7 - 7.9	17 ²
Strong	6 - 6.9	134 ²
Moderate	5 - 5.9	1319 ²
Light	4 - 4.9	13,000 (estimated)
Minor	3 - 3.9	130,000 (estimated)
Very Minor	2 - 2.9	1,300,000 (estimated)
¹ Based on observations since 1900. ² Based on observations since 1990.

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Fact Sheet 02: Year-wise description of Earth Quakes

Number of Earthquakes Worldwide for 2000 - 2005. Located by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center
Magnitude	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
8.0 to 9.9	1	1	0	1	2	1
7.0 to 7.9	14	15	13	14	14	9
6.0 to 6.9	158	126	130	140	140	116
5.0 to 5.9	1345	1243	1218	1203	1509	1307
4.0 to 4.9	8045	8084	8584	8462	10894	10264
3.0 to 3.9	4784	6151	7005	7624	7937	5782
2.0 to 2.9	3758	4162	6419	7727	6317	3249
1.0 to 1.9	1026	944	1137	2506	1344	20
0.1 to 0.9	5	1	10	134	103	0
No Magnitude	3120	2938	2937	3608	2939	642
Total	22256	23534	27454	31419	* 31199	* 21390
Estimated Deaths	231	21357	1685	33819	284010	1957

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Fact Sheet 03: Largest Earthquakes in the World Since 1900

Location	Date UTC	Magnitude	Coordinates		Reference
1.	Chile	1960 05 22	9.5	-38.24	-73.05
2.	Prince William Sound, Alaska	1964 03 28	9.2	61.02	-147.65
3.	Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra	2004 12 26	9.0	3.30	95.78
4.	Kamchatka	1952 11 04	9.0	52.76	160.06
5.	Off the Coast of Ecuador	1906 01 31	8.8	1.0	-81.5
6.	Northern Sumatra, Indonesia	2005 03 28	8.7	2.08	97.01
7.	Rat Islands, Alaska	1965 02 04	8.7	51.21	178.50
8.	Andrean of Islands, Alaska	1957 03 09	8.6	51.56	-175.39
9.	Assam - Tibet	1950 08 15	8.6	28.5	96.5
10.	Kuril Islands	1963 10 13	8.5	44.9	149.6
11.	Banda Sea, Indonesia	1938 02 01	8.5	-5.05	131.62
12.	Chile-Argentina Border	1922 11 11	8.5	-28.55	-70.50

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Fact Sheet 04: Largest and Deadliest Earthquakes by Year 1990 - 2005

	Largest Earthquakes				Deadliest Earthquake
Year	Date	Magnitude	Fatalities	Region	Date	Magnitude	Fatalities	Region
2005	03/28	8.7	1,313	Northern Sumatra, Indonesia	03/28	8.7	1,313	Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
2004	12/26	9.0	283,106	Off West Coast of Northern Sumatra	12/26	9.0	283,106	Off West Coast of Northern Sumatra
2003	09/25	8.3	0	Hokkaido, Japan Region	12/26	6.6	31,000	Southeastern Iran
2002	11/03	7.9	0	Central Alaska	03/25	6.1	1,000	Hindu Kush Region, Afghanistan
2001	06/23	8.4	138	Near Coast of Peru	01/26	7.7	20,023	India
2000	11/16	8.0	2	New Ireland Region, P.N.G.	06/04	7.9	103	Southern Sumatera, Indonesia
1999	09/20	7.7	2,297	Taiwan	08/17	7.6	17,118	Turkey
1998	03/25	8.1	0	Balleny Islands Region	05/30	6.6	4,000	Afghanistan-Tajikistan Border Region
1997	10/14	7.8	0	South of Fiji Islands	05/10	7.3	1,572	Northern Iran
	12/05	7.8	0	Near East Coast of Kamchatka
1996	02/17	8.2	166	Irian Jaya Region Indonesia	02/03	6.6	322	Yunnan, China
1995	07/30	8.0	3	Near Coast of Northern Chile	01/16	6.9	5,530	Kobe, Japan
	10/09	8.0	49	Near Coast of Jalisco Mexico
1994	10/04	8.3	11	Kuril Islands	06/20	6.8	795	Colombia
1993	08/08	7.8	0	South of Mariana Islands	09129	6.2	9,748	India
1992	12/12	7.8	2,519	Flores Region, Indonesia	12/12	7.8	2,519	Flores Region, Indonesia
1991	04/22	7.6	75	Costa Rica	10/19	6.8	2,000	Northern India
	12/22	7.6	0	Kuril Islands
1990	07/16	7.7	1,621	Luzon, Philippine Islands	06/20	7.4	50,000	Iran

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Fact Sheet 05: List of Some Significant Earthquakes in India

Date	Epicenter		Location	Magnitude
	Lat( Deg N )	Long( Deg E )
1819 Jun 16	23.6	68.6	Kutch,Gujarat	8.0
1869 Jan 10	25	93	Near Cachar, Assam	7.5
1885 May 30	34.1	74.6	Sopor, J&K	7.0
1897 Jun 12	26	91	Shillongplateau	8.7
1905 Apr 04	32.3	76.3	Kangra, H.P	8.0
1918 Jul 08	24.5	91.0	Srimangal, Assam	7.6
1930 Jul 02	25.8	90.2	Dhubri, Assam	7.1
1934jan 15	26.6	86.8	Bihar-Nepalborder	8.3
1941 Jun 26	12.4	92.5	Andaman Islands	8.1
1943 Oct 23	26.8	94.0	Assam	7.2
1950 Aug 15	28.5	96.7	Arunachal Pradesh-China Border	8.5
1956 Jul 21	23.3	7.0	Anjar, Gujarat	7.0
1967 Dec 10	17.37	73.75	Koyna, Maharashtra	6.5
1975 Jan 19	32.38	78.49	Kinnaur, Hp	6.2
1988 Aug 06	25.13	95.15	Manipur-Myanmar Border	6.6
1988 Aug 21	26.72	86.63	Bihar-Nepal Border	6.4
1991 Oct 20	30.75	78.86	Uttarkashi, Up Hills	6.6
1993 Sep 30	18.07	76.62	Latur - Osmanabad, Maharashtra	6.3
1997 May 22	23.08	80.06	Jabalpur, MP	6.0
1999 Mar 29	30.41	79.42	Champoli, UP	6.8
2001 Jan 26	23.40	70.28	Bhuj, Gujarat	6.9

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Fact Sheet 06: Seismic Zonation Map of India



Seismic Zonation map of a country is a guide to the seismic status of a region and its susceptibility to earthquakes. India has been divided into five zones with respect to severity of earthquakes. Of these, zone v is seismically the most active where earthquakes of magnitude 8 or more could occur recent strong motion observations around the world have revolutionized thinking on the design of engineering structures, placing emphasis also on the characteristics of the structures themselves it should be realized that in the case of shield type earthquakes, historic data are insufficient to define zones because recurrence intervals are much longer than the recorded human history this may often give a false sense of security. Occurrence of the damaging earthquake at Latur, falling in zone I is a typical example of this situation.

Source: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/

Earthquake Preparedness

Q: During an Earth Quake (EQ), should you head for the doorway?

Ans: Yes, only if you live in an old, unreinforced adobe. In modern homes, doorways are no stronger than any other parts of the house and usually have doors that will swing and can injure you. You are safer practicing the duck, cover, and hold under a sturdy piece of furniture.

Q: What emergency supplies do I need?

Ans:

1. Fire extinguisher
2. Adequate supplies of medications that you or family members are taking.
3. Crescent and pipe wrenches to turn off gas and water supplies.
4. First-aid kit and handbook.
5. Flashlights with extra bulbs and batteries.
6. Portable radio with extra batteries.
7. Water for each family member for at least 3 days (allow at least 1 gallon per person per day) and purification tablets or chlorine bleach to purify drinking water from other sources.
8. Canned and package foods, enough for several days and MECHANICAL can opener. Extra food for pets if necessary.
9. Camp stove or barbecue to cook on outdoors (store fuel out of the reach of children).
10. Waterproof, heavy-duty plastic bags for waste disposal.

Q: How can I plan ahead for an Earth Quake?

Ans:

1. Make sure each member of your family knows what to do no matter where they are when EQs occur:
• Establish a meeting place where you can all reunite afterward.
• Find out about EQ plans developed by children's school or day care.
• Remember transportation may be disrupted, keep some emergency supplies--food, liquids, and comfortable shoes, for example--at work.
2. Know where you gas, electric and water main shutoffs are and how to turn them off if there is a leak or electrical short. Make sure older members of the family can shut off utilities.
3. Locate your nearest fire and police stations and emergency medical facility.
4. Talk to your neighbors--how could they help you, or you them after an EQ.
5. Take Red Cross First Aid and CPR Training Course.

Q: What should I do during an EQ?

Ans:

1. If you are indoors--stay there! (Get under a desk or table and hang on to it, or move into a hallway or get against an inside wall. Stay clear of windows, fireplaces, and heavy furniture or appliances. Get out of the kitchen, which is a dangerous place (things can fall on you). Do not run downstairs or rush outside while the building is shaking or while there is danger of falling and hurting yourself or being hit by falling glass or debris.
2. If you are outside--, get into the open, away from building, power lines, chimneys, and anything else that might fall on you.
3. If you are driving--stop, but carefully. Move your car as far out of traffic as possible. Do not stop on or under a bridge or overpass or under trees, light posts, power lines, or signs. Stay inside your car until the shaking stops. When you resume driving watch for breaks in the pavement, fallen rocks, and bumps in the road at bridge approaches.
4. If you are in a mountainous area--watch out for falling rock, landslides, trees, and other debris that could be loosened by quakes.

Q: Things Not to do during an EQ?

Ans:

1. Do not turn on the gas again if you turned it off; let the gas company do it.
2. Do not use matches, lighters, camp stoves or barbecues, electrical equipment, appliances until you are sure there are no gas leaks. They may create a spark that could ignite leaking gas and cause an explosion and fire.
3. Do not use your telephone, except for a medical or fire emergency. You could tie up the lines needed for emergency response. If the phone doesn't work send someone for help.
4. Do not expect firefighters, police or paramedics to help you. They may not be available.

Q: What can I expect in my house when an EQ occurs? How do I identify it? What can be done?

Ans: The contents of your home may be damaged and can be dangerous:

1. Shaking can make light fixtures fall, refrigerators and other large items move across the floor, and bookcases and television sets topple over. Identify: Look around your house for things that could fall or move.
2. Ask yourself if your cupboard doors fly open (allowing dishes to shatter on the floor)

What Can Be Done: You can install door latches, braces and fasteners to fix most of these hazards yourself.

Q: What do I do after an earthquake?

Ans:

1. Wear sturdy shoes to avoid injury from broken glass and debris. Expect aftershocks.
2. Check for injuries (if a person is bleeding, put direct pressure on the wound, use clean gauze or cloth if available; If a person is not breathing administer CPR; Do not attempt to move seriously injured persons unless they are in further danger of injury; cover injured persons with blankets to keep warm; seek medical help for serious injuries.
3. Check for hazards (Fire hazards--put out fires in your home or neighborhood immediately, call for help; Gas leaks--shut off main gas valve only if you suspect a leak because of broken pipes or odor; Damaged electrical wiring--Shut off power at the control box if there is any danger to house wiring; Downed or damaged utility lines--do not touch downed power lines or any objects in contact with them; spills--clean up any spilled medicines, drugs, or other harmful materials such as bleach, lye, gas; downed or damaged chimneys--Approach with caution--don't use damaged chimney (it could start fire or let poisonous gases into your house; fallen items--beware of items tumbling off shelves when you open doors of closets and cupboards; (4) check food and water supplies--Do not eat or drink anything from open containers near shattered glass; If power is off, plan meals to use up foods that will spoil quickly or frozen foods (food in the freezer should be good for at least a couple of days; Don't light your kitchen stove if you suspect a gas leak; Use BBQ or camp stoves, outdoors only for emergency cooking; If your water is off you can drink supplies from water heaters, melted ice cubes or canned vegetables (Avoid drinking water from swimming pools or especially spas--it may have too many chemicals in it to be safe.) .

Q: What are the steps to EQ safety/awareness?

Ans:

1. Estimate what EQ of what size are likely to occur (geology).
2. Given the EQ size we then estimate what the shaking will be (seismology).
3. Given the shaking, we estimate the response of different types of buildings (EQ engineering). Only with all these steps can we take steps as society to enact bldg. codes and retrofitting programs to make our community safer.

Q: What are part of the earthquake Supplies and Equipment Checklist?

Ans: When organizing supplies for an earthquake, remember that you need to get to them after an earthquake has turned your house into mess. Store supplies in an easy to find location that has a minimal chance of being buried under falling objects. If you are short on space, a large trashcan makes an excellent storage container. If you live in an apartment, the container can be hidden under a decorative tablecloth. Earthquakes can happen at any time. Are you prepared right now? Have you rotated your food supplies in the last six months? If not, make time on your calendar. Do it now!

• Work Gloves.
• Ax / Maul (min. 6 lb.).
• Shovel (flat head and pointed).
• Broom.
• Hammer and Nails.
• Screwdrivers.
• Crowbar or Claw Tool (36" or Longer).
• Plastic Sheeting Rolls (4 Mil. IO' X 25').
• Plastic Garbage Bags (Heavy Duty, 30 Gal. or Larger).
• Small and Large Plastic Bags.
• Coils of Rope 1/4", 1/2", 3/4" (25' - 50').
• Coil of Wire.
• Tent (Family or Tube Type).
• Tarp (PVC or Canvas, Minimum Two, 8' X IO').
• Sleeping Bags, Blanket, or Space Blanket.
• Cheese Cloth (To Strain Particles From Water).
• CASH MONEY (Small Denominations & Coin).
• Dry Food.
• Water.
• Clothing.
• Walking Shoes and Socks Local Road Map.
• Fire Extinguisher (We recommend a dry chemical type with a minimum size rating of 2A -IOBC, with an earthquake restraining strap, a hose type nozzle, and a metal head).
• Compass.
• Flashlight With Batteries, Chemical Light Sticks and Matches, In Waterproof Container.
• Small Radio (Battery Powered Portable).
• Entertainment Pack - Family Photos, Notebooks, Literature, and Games.

Q: What are the sanitation supplies one need to carry during the EQ?

Ans.

1. Plastic Bags - heavy duty garbage can size and smaller zip-lock types
2. Powdered Chlorine Lime - (proper storage is required, it is an oxidizer and it is corrosive)
3. Portable Camp Toilet with Chemicals
4. Tissue Paper
5. Handi-wipes, Wet-N-Drys, etc. for water free cleanup
6. Toilet Supplies - Towelettes, Shampoo, Toothpaste, Deodorant, Sanitary Napkins, Etc.
7. Insect Sprays

Q: What are the structural precautions one can take while constructing house to avoid the risk of EQ?

Ans:


	Strengthen the connections between ceilings, walls and floors using the appropriate hardware (image at right). Inspect all exposed framing in garages, basements, porches and patio covers.  Strengthen this where necessary. Brick and Masonry Facades: Check all brick, masonry and stone facades to make sure they are securely attached to your home. Consult a structural engineer for advice on how to do this.
Chimneys:
	One of the most common types of damage suffered in earthquakes is toppled chimneys. This becomes extremely dangerous when bricks penetrate the roof and fall to the rooms below. Check the chimney for loose mortar, flue or bricks. Reinforce the ceiling surrounding the chimney with 3/4" plywood nailed to the beams. This will provide protection from failing bricks that might break through the roof.

Windows: Inspect all large plate glass windows to make sure they are safety glass. Consider adding a safety film to all windows. This does not prevent the window from breaking, but it does keep the glass from falling and injuring loved ones. Homes that have been framed in wood are generally quite resistant to earthquake damage. Watching tall trees in a strong wind storm demonstrates this resistance. It is unlikely that conventionally-frame houses will collapse. This is the case only if the home remains on its foundations and the roof, ceiling and walls remain connected.

Foundation: The majority of residential structural damage is caused by homes sliding off their foundations during major earthquakes.

Check your house and garage for foundation bolts. These bolts secure the wood structure to the concrete foundation. They are placed approximately six feet apart along the sill plate and should look like the one illustrated. Using a hammer drill and a carbide bit, drill a hole through the sill plate into the foundation. Place these holes every six feet. Drop a 1/2" X 8" expansion bolt into the holes and finish by tightening the nut and washer.

Cripple Walls: Inspect the vertical studs that extend from the foundation to the first floor of your home. These are called cripple walls. If they are exposed on the inside, they could buckle in the severe ground motion that accompanies many large earthquakes. Strengthen the cripple walls by nailing plywood sheeting to the vertical studs. Inspect the garage for exposed cripple walls. This is particularly important if the garage is supporting living quarters.

Mobile Homes: It is relatively easy for a mobile home to be thrown off its supports during an earthquake, even those that produce relatively minor shaking. Leave the wheels on the coach to limit its fall. Check the undercarriage to make sure that it has been securely tied to the foundation. Tie double-wide mobile homes together. The two halves generally are of different weights. Because of this, they move differently in an earthquake and can easily pull apart. Seismic bracing systems are commercially available. Be sure that any system you are interested in has been CSA (Canadian Standards Association) certified and inspected by the appropriate local authorities.

Q: What should one do when people comeback home from the disaster?

Ans: Returning home after a major disaster can be both dangerous and difficult. Do not return home until authorities have indicated that it is safe to do so.

Remember that it takes a long time to recover from a disaster. Take your time and pace yourself. Plan a reasonable amount of activity each day. Include children in clean-up and recovery activities. Watch for signs of stress in yourself and family members. If you can't shake feelings of despair, get professional help. While life will not be the same as before the disaster happened, you can and will recover.

The behavior of your pets may change after an emergency. Normally quiet and friendly pets may become aggressive or defensive. Watch animals closely. If after a disaster you have to leave town, take your pet with you. Pets are unlikely to survive on their own.

Try to stay at home and avoid driving to keep roads clear for emergency workers.

If you have appropriate insurance, call your agent. Take pictures of damages. Keep good records of repair and cleaning costs.

Before entering a damaged building:

• Put on a sturdy shoes and work gloves for protection against glass or other debris.
• Check exterior, roof and chimney for structural damage.
• Stay away from fallen or damaged electrical wires. They could still be alive. Do not carry lanterns or torches that could start a fire.
• If you have any doubts about safety, have your home inspected by a professional before entering.
• Keep a battery operated radio with you to hear any emergency updates

Upon entering:

• Check for injured or trapped persons. Give first aid where appropriate. Do not move seriously injured persons unless they are in immediate danger of further injury. Call for help.
• Extinguish all open flames.
• Until phone service is fully restored, use the phone only for a life-threatening emergency.
• Check utilities and appliances:

Check gas supply:

If you smell, gas or hear a blowing or hissing sound, open a window and quickly leave the building. Turn off the gas at the outside main valve if you can, and call the gas company from a neighbor's home. If you turn off the gas for any reason, it must be turned back on by a professional.

Check electricity:

If you see sparks, broken or frayed wires, or if you smell hot insulation, turn off the electricity at the main fuse box or circuit breaker; call an electrician first for advice.

Check sewage and water lines:

If you suspect sewage lines are damaged, avoid using the toilets and call a plumber. If water pipes are damaged, contact the water company and avoid using water from the tap. You can obtain safe water by melting ice cubes.

Checking Electrical Appliances

If any of the electrical appliances are wet, turn off the main power switch in the house. Unplug the appliance, dry it out, then reconnect it and turn off the main power switch back on.

If fuses or circuits blow when the electrical power is restored, turn off the main power switch again and inspect for short circuits in the home wiring or appliances. Call a professional if the problem continues to occur.

Cleaning Up:

• Clean up spilled medicines, bleaches, gasoline, or other flammable liquids.
• Try to protect your home from further damage. Open windows and doors. Patch holes.
• Clean and disinfect everything that got wet. The mud left behind by floodwaters can contain sewage and chemicals.
• If your basement is flooded, pump it out gradually (about one-third of the water per day) to avoid damage. The walls may collapse and the floor may buckle if the basement is pumped out while the surrounding ground is still waterlogged.
• Throw out food, cosmetics and medicines that have come into contact with flood waters.

Source: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/

Graphic Resources

Source: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/

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Source: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/

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Source: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/

What Causes Earthquakes: Information about Faults, Plate Tectonics and Earth Structure

Q: What is an earthquake and what causes them to happen?

Ans: An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault. Stresses in the earth's outer layer push the sides of the fault together. Stress builds up and the rocks slips suddenly, releasing energy in waves that travel through the earth's crust and cause the shaking that we feel during an earthquake. An EQ occurs when plates grind and scrape against each other. In California there are two plates the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. The Pacific Plate consists of most of the Pacific Ocean floor and the California Coast line. The North American Plate comprises most the North American Continent and parts of the Atlantic Ocean floor. These primary boundary between these two plates is the San Andreas Fault. The San Andreas Fault is more than 650 miles long and extends to depths of at least 10 miles. Many other smaller faults like the Hayward (Northern California) and the San Jacinto (Southern California) branch from and join the San Andreas Fault Zone. The Pacific Plate grinds northwestward past the North American Plate at a rate of about two inches per year. Parts of the San Andreas Fault system adapt to this movement by constant "creep" resulting in many tiny shocks and a few moderate earth tremors. In other areas where creep is NOT constant, strain can build up for hundreds of years, producing great EQs when it finally releases.

Q: Can we cause earthquakes? Is there any way to prevent earthquakes?

Ans: Earthquakes induced by human activity have been documented in a few locations in the United States, Japan, and Canada. The cause was injection of fluids into deep wells for waste disposal and secondary recovery of oil, and the use of reservoirs for water supplies. Most of these earthquakes were minor. The largest and most widely known resulted from fluid injection at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver, Colorado. In 1967, an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 followed a series of smaller earthquakes. Injection had been discontinued at the site in the previous year once the link between the fluid injection and the earlier series of earthquakes was established. (Nicholson, Craig and Wesson, R.L., 1990, Earthquake Hazard Associated with Deep Well Injection--A Report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1951, 74 p.) Other human activities, even nuclear detonations, have not been linked to earthquake activity. Energy from nuclear blasts dissipates quickly along the Earth's surface. Earthquakes are part of a global tectonic process that generally occurs well beyond the influence or control of humans. The focus (point of origin) of earthquakes is typically tens to hundreds of miles underground. The scale and force necessary to produce earthquakes are well beyond our daily lives. We cannot prevent earthquakes; however, we can significantly mitigate their effects by identifying hazards, building safer structures, and providing education on earthquake safety.

Q: What do we know about the interior of the Earth?

Ans:

Five billion years ago the Earth was formed by a massive conglomeration of space materials. The heat energy released by this event melted the entire planet, and it is still cooling off today. Denser materials like iron (Fe) sank into the core of the Earth, while lighter silicates (Si), other oxygen (O) compounds, and water rose near the surface. The earth is divided into four main layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust. The core is composed mostly of iron (Fe) and is so hot that the outer core is molten, with about 10% sulfur (S). The inner core is under such extreme pressure that it remains solid. Most of the Earth's mass is in the mantle, which is composed of iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), and oxygen (O) silicate compounds. At over 1000 degrees C, the mantle is solid but can deform slowly in a plastic manner. The crust is much thinner than any of the other layers, and is composed of the least dense calcium (Ca) and sodium (Na) aluminum-silicate minerals. Being relatively cold, the crust is rocky and brittle, so it can fracture in earthquakes. (Univ. of Nevada).

Q: What are plate tectonics?

Ans: Plate tectonics is the continual slow movement of the tectonic plates, the outermost part of the earth. This motion is what causes earthquakes and volcanoes and has created most of the spectacular scenery around the world.

Q: What is a fault and what are the different types?

Ans: A fault is a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock. Faults allow the blocks to move relative to each other. This movement may occur rapidly, in the form of an earthquake - or may occur slowly, in the form of creep. Faults may range in length from a few millimeters to thousands of kilometers. Most faults produce repeated displacements over geologic time. During an earthquake, the rock on one side of the fault suddenly slips with respect to the other. The fault surface can be horizontal or vertical or some arbitrary angle in between.

Earth scientists use the angle of the fault with respect to the surface (known as the dip) and the direction of slip along the fault to classify faults. Faults which move along the direction of the dip plane are dip-slip faults and described as either normal or reverse, depending on their motion. Faults that move horizontally are known as strike-slip faults and are classified as either right-lateral or left-lateral. Faults, which show both dip-slip and strike-slip motion are known as oblique-slip faults.

The following definitions are adapted from The Earth by Press and Siever.

Normal fault- a dip-slip fault in which the block above the fault has moved downward relative to the block below. This type of faulting occurs in response to extension and is often observed in the Western United States Basin and Range Province and along oceanic ridge systems.

Thrust fault- a dip-slip fault in which the upper block, above the fault plane, moves up and over the lower block. This type of faulting is common in areas of compression, such as regions where one plate is being sub ducted under another as in Japan. When the dip angle is shallow, a reverse fault is often described as a thrust fault.

Strike-slip fault - a fault on which the two blocks slide past one another. The San Andreas Fault is an example of a right lateral fault.

A left-lateral strike-slip fault is one on which the displacement of the far block is to the left when viewed from either side.

A right-lateral strike-slip fault is one on which the displacement of the far block is to the right when viewed from either side.

Q: At what depth do earthquakes occur?

Ans: Earthquakes occur in the crust or upper mantle, which ranges from the earth's surface to about 800 kilometers deep (about 500 miles).

Q: What is "surface rupture" in an earthquake?

Ans: Surface rupture occurs when movement on a fault deep within the earth breaks through to the surface. NOT ALL earthquakes result in surface rupture.

Q: What is the relationship between faults and earthquakes? What happens to a fault when an earthquake occurs?

Ans: Earthquakes occur on faults - strike-slip earthquakes occur on strike-slip faults, normal earthquakes occur on normal faults, and thrust earthquakes occur on thrust or reverse faults. When an earthquake occurs on one of these faults, the rock on one side of the fault slips with respect to the other. The fault surface can be vertical, horizontal, or at some angle to the surface of the earth. The slip direction can also be at any angle.

Q: How do we know a fault exists?

Ans:

1. if the EQ left surface evidence, such as surface ruptures or fault scarps (cliffs made by EQs).
2. if a large EQ has broken the fault since we began instrumental recordings in 1932.
3. if the faults produces small EQs that we can record with the denser seismographic network established in the 1970s.

Q: Where can I go to see the/a fault?

Ans: The closest fault depends on where you live. Some earthquakes produce spectacular fault scarps, and others are completely buried beneath the surface. Sometimes you may not even know that you are looking at a fault scarp.

Q: What does an earthquake feel like?

Ans: Generally, during an earthquake you first will feel a swaying or small jerking motion, then a slight pause, followed by a more intense rolling or jerking motion. The duration of the shaking you feel depends on the earthquake's magnitude, your distance from the epicenter, and the geology of the ground under your feet. Shaking at a site with soft sediments, for example, can last 3 times as long as shaking at a stable bedrock site such as one composed of granite. If the site is in a building, then the height of the building and type of material it is constructed from are also factors. For minor earthquakes, ground shaking usually lasts only a few seconds. Strong shaking from a major earthquake usually lasts less than one minute. For example, shaking in the 1989 magnitude 7.1 Loma Prieta (San Francisco) earthquake lasted 15 seconds; for the 1906 magnitude 8.3 San Francisco earthquake it lasted about 40 seconds. Shaking for the 1964 magnitude 9.2 Alaska earthquakes, however, lasted three minutes.

Q: Foreshocks, aftershocks - what is the difference?

Ans: "Foreshock" and "aftershock" are relative terms. Foreshocks are earthquakes, which precede larger earthquakes in the same location. Aftershocks are smaller earthquakes, which occur in the same general area during the days to years following a larger event or "mainshock", defined as within 1-2 fault lengths away and during the period of time before the background seismicity level has resumed. As a general rule, aftershocks represent minor readjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the main shock. The frequency of these aftershocks decreases with time. Historically, deep earthquakes (>30km) are much less likely to be followed by aftershocks than shallow earthquakes. (Univ. of Washington).

Q: Two earthquakes occurred on the same day. Are they related?

Ans: Often, people wonder if an earthquake in Alaska may have triggered an earthquake in California; or if an earthquake in Chile is related to an earthquake that occurred a week later in Mexico. Over these distances, the answer is no. Even the Earth's rocky crust is not rigid enough to transfer stress fields efficiently over thousands of miles.

Source:http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:Can you predict earthquakes?

Ans:No. Neither the USGS nor Caltech nor any other scientists have ever predicted a major earthquake. They do not know how, and they do not expect to know how any time in the near future. However based on scientific data, probabilities can be calculated for potential future earthquakes. For example, scientists estimate that over the next 30 years the probability of a major EQ occurring in the San Francisco Bay area is 67% and 60% in Southern California.

Q: Can animals predict earthquakes?

Ans:Changes in animal behavior can not be used to predict earthquakes. Even though there have been documented cases of unusual animal behavior prior to earthquakes, a reproducible connection between a specific behavior and the occurrence of an earthquake has not been made. Animals change their behavior for many reasons and given that an earthquake can shake millions of people, it is likely that a few of their pets will, by chance, be acting strangely before an earthquake.

Q: Can you prevent large earthquakes by making lots of small ones, or by "lubricating" the fault with water?

Ans: Seismologists have observed that for every magnitude 6 earthquake there are 10 of magnitude 5, 100 of magnitude 4, 1,000 of magnitude 3, and so forth as the events get smaller and smaller. This sounds like a lot of small earthquakes, but there are never enough small ones to eliminate the occasional large event. It would take 32 magnitudes 5's, 1000 magnitude 4's, 32,000 magnitude 3's to equal the energy of one magnitude 6 event. So, even though we always record many more small events than large ones, there are never enough to eliminate the need for the occasional large earthquake.

As for "lubricating" faults with water or some other substance, injecting high pressure fluids deep into the ground is known to be able to trigger earthquakes to occur sooner than would have been the case without the injection. However, this would be a dangerous pursuit in any populated area, as one might trigger a damaging earthquake.

Q: Can some people sense that an earthquake is about to happen? (Earthquake sensitive)?

Ans: There is no scientific explanation for the symptoms some people claim to have preceding an earthquake, and more often than not there is no earthquake following the symptoms.

Q: Is there earthquake weather?

Ans: In the 4th Century B.C., Aristotle proposed that earthquakes were caused by winds trapped in subterranean caves. Small tremors were thought to have been caused by air pushing on the cavern roofs, and large ones by the air breaking the surface. This theory lead to a belief in earthquake weather, that because a large amount of air was trapped underground, the weather would be hot and calm before an earthquake. A later theory stated that earthquakes occurred in calm, cloudy conditions, and were usually preceded by strong winds, fireballs, and meteors.

However, there is no connection between weather and earthquakes. They are the result of geologic processes within the earth and can happen in any weather and at any time during the year. Earthquakes originate miles underground. Wind, precipitation, temperature, and barometric pressure changes affect only the surface and shallow subsurface of the Earth. Earthquakes are focused at depths well out of the reach of weather, and the forces that cause earthquakes are much larger than the weather forces. Earthquakes occur in all types of weather, in all climate zones, in all seasons of the year, and at any time of day. Sometimes, we are asked: "Do earthquakes change the weather in any way? Earthquakes themselves do not cause weather to change. Earthquakes, however, are a part of global tectonics, a process that often changes the elevation of the land and its morphology. Tectonics can cause inland areas to become coastal or vice versa. Changes significant to alter the climate occur over millions of years, however, and after many earthquakes.

Q: Are there more earthquakes in the morning/in the evening/at a certain time of the month?

Ans: Earthquakes are equally as likely to occur at any time of the day or month or year. The factors that vary between the time of the day, month, or year do not affect the forces in the earth that cause earthquakes.

Q: Can the position of the moon or the planets affect seismicity?

Ans: The moon, sun, and other planets have an influence on the earth in the form of perturbations to the gravitational field. The relative amount of influence is proportional to the objects mass, and inversely proportional to the square of its distance from the earth. No significant correlations have been identified between the rate of earthquake occurrence and the semi-diurnal tides when using large earthquake catalogs. There have, however, been some small but significant correlations reported between the semi-diurnal tides and the rate of occurrence of aftershocks in some volcanic regions, such as Mammoth Lakes.

Q: Can the ground open up during an earthquake?

Ans: Shallow crevasses can form during earthquake induced landslides, lateral spreads, or other types of ground failures. Faults, however, do not open up during an earthquake. Movement occurs along the plane of a fault, not perpendicular to it. If faults opened up, no earthquake would occur because there would be no friction to lock them together.

Q: Why are we having so many earthquakes? Has earthquake activity been increasing? Does this mean a big one is going to hit? We haven't had any earthquakes in a long time; does this mean that the pressure is building up and there will be a big one?

Ans: Although it may seem that we are having more earthquakes, earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have remained fairly constant throughout this century and, according to our records; have actually seemed to decrease in recent years. A partial explanation may lie in the fact that in the last twenty years, we have definitely had an increase in the number of earthquakes we have been able to locate each year. This is because of the tremendous increase in the number of seismograph stations in the world and the many improvements in global communications. In 1931, there were about 350 stations operating in the world; today, there are more that 4,000 stations and the data now comes in rapidly from these stations by telex, computer and satellite. This increase in the number of stations and the more timely receipt of data has allowed us and other seismological centers to locate many small earthquakes which were undetected in earlier years, and we are able to locate earthquakes more rapidly. The NEIC now locates about 12,000 to 14,000 earthquakes each year or approximately 35 per day. Also, because of the improvements in communications and the increased interest in natural disasters, the public now learns about more earthquakes. According to long-term records (since about 1900), we expect about 18 major earthquakes (7.0 - 7.9) and one great earthquake (8.0 or above) in any given year. However, let us take a look at what has happened in the past 32 years, from 1969 through 2001, so far. Our records show that 1992, and 1995-1997 were the only years that we have reached or exceeded the long-term average number of major earthquakes since 1971. In 1970 and in 1971 we had 20 and 19 major earthquakes, respectively, but in other years, the total was in many cases well below the 18 per year, which we may expect based on the long-term average.

A temporal increase in earthquake activity does not mean that a large earthquake is about to happen. Similarly, quiescence, or the lack of seismicity, does not mean a large earthquake is going to happen.

Q: Do earthquakes cause volcanoes?

Ans: No, there are different earth processes responsible for volcanoes. Earthquakes may occur in an area before, during, and after a volcanic eruption, but they are the result of the active forces connected with the eruption, and not the cause of volcanic activity.

Source: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/

News Updates

For detailed news update on the earthquake in the subcontinent, check out the following links. The links cover the information pertaining to death toll, rescue and relief operations, impact of political relations of India and Pakistan on the rescue and relief operation etc.

1. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/10/08/quake.pakistan/
2. http://www.pakobserver.net/200510/10/
3. http://www.paktoday.com/quake7.htm
4. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1257939.cms
5. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1257938.cms
6. http://www.ipcs.org/India_Pak_news.jsp?action=showView&portal=nuclear
7. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LSGZ-6H2BV7?
   OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=EQ-2005

Disaster Management Information System

What is DMIS?

The Disaster Management Information System, http://www.sristi.org/dmis_cms is a civil society initiative supported by socially conscious institutions and individuals, companies and organisations. The system was launched by SRISTI, http://www.sristi.org (Society for Research & Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions) on the 18^th of January 2002 at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.

Background:

Natural disasters impart lessons at a very high cost of life and property. But if those lessons do not lead to learning and knowledge generation then it is a very heavy cost to bear. This lack of learning from the past hurts most at the recurrence of disasters. The earthquake in Gujarat (26^th January 2001, an earthquake of 7.9 magnitude on Richter scale struck Gujarat, India, with its epicentre in Kutch, causing destruction of three towns and death of more than 20,000 people) and the subsequent chaos was an indicator of how crucial disaster planning is to manage relief and rehabilitation during disasters.

SRISTI participated in the relief and rehabilitation work in Kutch. But the relief work suffered immensely due to lack of information and proper planning. When we tried to get answers to important questions that were cropping up – for instance, whether there exists a database on the distribution of available resources and expertise with individuals, institutions and corporations – all we got in response was a blank. This pointed to the urgent necessity of building a system for disaster mitigation and for documenting experiences of individuals and organisations, which might act as a knowledge resource and help in better coordination in case of future disasters.

The Disaster Management Information System:

Thus, SRISTI initiated an effort to build a “Disaster Management Information System”. Through this initiative we are trying to develop a database-driven information system for Disaster Management Authorities (DMA) in various states, NGOs and other organisations. We appealed to NGOs, relief workers, DMAs and individuals to share their experiences and volunteer services and resources to the online database maintained at our website. The database currently contains more than a thousand volunteers who have offered to volunteer their services and resources in time of emergency. About 700 organisations and institutions are also listed on the site, besides other resources and web links.

The DMIS is a wholly voluntary activity run with contributions in terms of time and services by SRISTI volunteers, NGOs and above all civil society institutions across the world. All the information shared with us is accessible to all, except where the volunteer has chosen to limit accessibility only to the relevant authorities.

A Guideline for Disaster Preparedness

Prof. Anil K Gupta

(Prof. Anil K Gupta's talk at Ahmedabad Management Association, AMA laid down an approach for relief and rehabilitation. Further a seven point disaster management proposal was worked out, with a vision to create a Disaster Management Information System, DMIS)

I am focusing on preparing a template for disaster management including following seven issues:

a)Database: on various resources, skills, and services required for relief at short notice. It will have information on safety equipments, oxygen cylinders and various other equipments, skills and other information required to deal with emergency.

b)Logistics: One of the most difficult problems to be handled is the organization of supply chain for relief. Several colleagues at IIMA also developed logistics system for Collectorate at Bhuj. This system could not be integrated with the GIS system so that supplies could be tracked right upto the village. This needs to be done. Likewise, other elements of logistics need to be put in place.

c) Technological Needs: Whole range of technical questions regarding buildings, cutting concrete slabs, rescue and relief emerged which needed to be solved on the spot. The best practices have to be put in use.

d) Self Reliance: The community self-reliance, lot of aid led to excessive inventory at the household level leading to reduced incentives for work and self-help. Likewise, there were areas where communities came together to help each other. The lessons of community self-help need to be put together. A database of volunteers who can move at short notice will need to be developed.

e) Communication Infrastructure: This is a serious problem and has to be resolved once for all. It will require network of ham radios, use of All India Radio, setting up help lines, etc. We will also have to create information dissemination system and develop mechanism for capacity building.

f) Emergency Preparedness: Drills will have to be organized to keep society prepared for dealing with such emergencies. One will have to learn from the experience of other similar drills.

g) Forecasting: Wherever possible, disasters which can be anticipated over time or space need to be looked into. For instance, buildings erected on land fill areas which were wet lands or low lying areas were more likely to get damaged, as was borne out by the recent evidence.

Dengue

Dengue is caused by a virus spread by Aedes (Stegomyia) mosquitoes. Over the past two decades there has been a dramatic global increase in the frequency of dengue fever (DF) dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), and dengue shock syndrome (DSS) and their epidemics, with a concomitant increase in disease incidence. The World Health Report 1996 stated, that the "re-emergence of infectious diseases is a warning that progress achieved so far towards global security in health and prosperity may be wasted." The report further indicated that "infectious diseases range from those occurring in tropical areas (such as malaria and DHF which are most common in developing countries) to diseases found worldwide (such as hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS) and food-borne illnesses that affect large numbers of people in both the richer and poorer nations."

Dengue epidemics are known to have occurred over the last three centuries in tropical, subtropical and temperate areas of the world. The first epidemic of dengue was recorded in 1635 in the French West Indies, although a disease compatible with dengue had been reported in China as early as 992 AD. During the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, epidemics of dengue-like diseases were described globally in the tropics as well as in some temperate regions. Rush was probably describing dengue when he wrote of "break-bone fever" occurring in Philadelphia in 1780. Most of these epidemics were clinical dengue fever, although some were associated with the severe haemorrhagic form of the disease. Efforts to control Aedes aegypti and economic development have markedly reduced the threat of epidemic dengue in temperate countries during the past 50 years.

The first recorded outbreak of a dengue disease compatible with DHF occurred in Australia in 1897. A similar haemorrhagic disease was recorded in 1928 during an epidemic in Greece and again in Taiwan in 1931. The first confirmed epidemic of DHF was recorded in the Philippines in 1953-1954. Since then, major outbreaks of DHF with significant mortality have occurred in most countries of the South-East Asia Region, including India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, as well as in Singapore, Cambodia, China, Laos, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Palau, Philippines, Tahiti and Vietnam in the Western Pacific Region. Over the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in the incidence and geographical distribution of DHF, and epidemics now occur each year in some South-East Asian countries.

Clinical Perspective

The Virus

The dengue viruses are members of the genus Flavivirus and family flaviviridae. These small (50 nm.) viruses contain single-strand RNA. The virion consists of a nucleocapsid with cubic symmetry enclosed in a lipoprotein envelope. The dengue virus genome is approximately 11,000 base pairs in length, and is composed of three structural protein genes encoding the nucleocaprid or core protein (C), a membrane-associated protein (M), an envelope protein (E), and seven nonstructural protein (NS) genes. The envelope glycoprotein is associated with viral haemagglutination and neutralization activity.

The dengue viruses form a distinct complex within the genus flavivirusbased on antigenic and biological characteristics. There are four virus serotypes which are designated as DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4. Infection with any one serotype confers lifelong immunity to that virus serotype. Although all four serotypes are antigenically similar, they are different enough to elicit cross-protection for only a few months after infection by any one of them.

Dengue viruses of all four serotypes have been associated with epidemics of dengue fever in which there was little or no evidence of DHF. All four virus serotypes have also caused DHF epidemics associated with severe and fatal disease.

The Vector

Dengue viruses are transmitted from person to person by Aedes (Ae.) mosquitoes of the subgenus Stegomyia. Ae. aegypti is the most important epidemic vector, but other species such as Ae. albopictus, Ae. polynesiensis, members of Ae. scutellaris complex, and Ae. (Finlaya) niveus have also been incriminated as secondary vectors. All except Ae. aegypti have their own restricted geographical distribution and, although they may be excellent hosts for dengue viruses, they are generally less efficient epidemic vectors than Ae. aegypti.

The Host

Dengue viruses infect humans and several species of lower primates. Humans are the main urban reservoir of the viruses. Studies in Malaysia and Africa have shown that monkeys are infected and are the likely reservoir hosts, although the epidemiological significance of this observation remains to be established. Dengue virus strains grow well in insect tissue cultures and on mammalian cell cultures after adaptation.

Transmission Cycle

The female Aedes (Stegomyia) mosquito usually becomes infected with dengue virus when she takes blood from a person during the acute febrile (viraemic) phase of illness. After an extrinsic incubation period of 8 to 10 days, the salivary glands of the mosquito become infected and the virus is transmitted when the infective mosquito bites and injects the salivary fluid into the wound of another person. Following an incubation period in humans of 3-14 days (4-6 days average), there is often a sudden onset of the disease, with fever, headache, myalgias, loss of appetite, and a variety of nonspecific signs and symptoms, including nausea, vomiting and rash.

Viraemia is usually present at the time of or just before the onset of symptoms and lasts an average of five days after the onset of illness. This is the crucial period when the patient is most infective for the vector mosquito and contributes to maintaining the transmission cycle if the patient is not protected against vector mosquito bites.

There is evidence that the vertical transmission of dengue virus from infected female mosquitoes to the next generation occurs in several species including Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. This may be an important mechanism for virus maintenance, but does not appear to be important in epidemics.

Clinical Manifestation

Dengue virus infection may be asymptomatic or may cause undifferentiated febrile illness (viral syndrome), dengue fever (DF), or dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) including dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Infection with one dengue serotype gives lifelong immunity to that particular serotype, but there is no cross-protection for the other serotypes. The clinical presentation depends on age, immune status of the host, and the virus strain.

1. Undifferentiated fever: Infants, children and some adults who have been infected with dengue virus for the first time (i.e. primary dengue infection) will develop a simple fever indistinguishable from other viral infections. Maculopapular rashes may accompany the fever or may appear during defervescence.
   
2. Dengue fever: Dengue fever is most common in older children and adults. It is generally an acute biphasic fever with headache, myalgias, arthralgias, rashes and leucopenia. Although DF is commonly benign, it may be an incapacitating disease with severe muscle and joint pain (break-bone fever), particularly in adults, and occasionally with unusual haemorrhage. In dengue endemic areas, DF seldom occurs among indigenous people.
   
3. Dengue haemorrhagic fever: Dengue haemorrhagic fever is most common in children less than 15 years of age, but it also occurs in adults. DHF is characterized by the acute onset of fever and associated non-specific constitutional signs and symptoms. There is a haemorrhagic diathesis and a tendency to develop fatal shock (dengue shock syndrome). Abnormal haemostasis and plasma leakage are the main patho-physiological changes, with thrombocytopenia and haemoconcentration presenting as constant findings. Although DHF occurs most commonly in children who have experienced secondary dengue infection, it has also been documented in primary infections.

Clinical Symptoms

After an average incubation period of 4-6 days (range 3-14 days), various non-specific, undifferentiated prodomes, such as headache, backache and general malaise may develop. Typically, the onset of DF in adults is sudden, with a sharp rise in temperature occasionally accompanied by chillis, and is invariably associated with severe headache and flushed face(12). Within 24 hours there may be retro-orbital pain, particularly on eye movement or eye pressure, photophobia, backache and pain in the muscles and joints/bones of the extremities. The other common symptoms include anorexia and altered taste sensation, constipation, colicky pain and abdominal tenderness, dragging pains in the inguinal region, sore throat, and general depression. These symptoms vary in severity and usually persist for several days.

1. Fever: The body temperature is usually between 39oC and 40oC, and the fever may be biphasic, lasting 5-7 days.
2. Rash: Diffuse flushing or fleeting pinpoint eruptions may be observed on the face, neck and chest during the first half of the febrile period, and a conspicuous rash that may be maculopapular or scarlatiniform appears on approximately the third or fourth day. Towards the end of the febrile period or immediately after defervescence, the generalized rash fades and localized clusters of petechiae may appear over the dorsum of the feet, on the legs, and on the hands andarms. This confluent petechial rash is characterized by scattered, pale, round areas of normal skin. Occasionally the rash is accompanied by itching.
3. Skin Haemorrhage: A positive tourinquet test and/or petechiae.
4. Course: The relative duration and severity of DF varies between individuals in a given epidemic, as well as from one epidemic to another. Convalescence may be short and uneventful, but may also often be prolonged. In adults it sometimes lasts for several weeks and may be accompanied by pronounced asthenia and depression. Bradycardia is common during convalescene. Haemorrhagic complications, such as epistaxis, gingival bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, haematuria and hypermenorrhoea, may accompany epidemics of DF. Severe bleeding has occasionally caused deaths in some epidemics. Dengue fever with haemorrhagic manifestations must be differentiated from dengue haemorrhagic fever.

Dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome

Typical cases of DHF are characterized by high fever, haemorrhagic phenomena, hepatomegaly, and often circulatory failure. Moderate to marked thrombocytopenia with concurrent haemoconcentration are distinctive clinical laboratory findings. The major pathophysiologic changes that determine the severity of the disease in DHF and differentiate it from DF are abnormal haemostasis and leakage of plasma as manifested by thrombocytopenia and rising haematocrit.

DHF commonly begins with a sudden rise in temperature which is accompanied by facial flush and other non-specific constitutional symptoms resembling dengue fever, such as anorexia, vomiting, headache, and muscle or joint pains.

Some DHF patients complain of sore throat, and an injected pharynx may be found on examination. Epigastric discomfort, tenderness at the right costal margin, and generalized abdominal pain are common. The temperature is typically high and in most cases continues for two to seven days, then falls to a normal or subnormal level. Occasionally the temperature may be as high as 40oC, and febrile convulsions may occur.

The most common haemorrhagic phenomenon is a positive tourniquet test. Easy bruising and bleeding at venipuncture sites are present in most cases. Fine petechiae scattered on the extremities, axillae, face and soft palate may be seen during the early febrile phase. A confluent petechial rash with characteristic small, round areas of normal skin is sometimes seen in convalescence after the temperature has returned to normal. A maculopapular or rubella-type rash may be observed early or late in the disease. Epistaxis and gum bleeding are less common. Mild gastrointestinal haemorrhage is occasionally observed. Haematuria is rarely observed.

Complications and Unusual Manifestations of DF / DHF in Childhood

Encephalitic signs such as convulsion and coma are rare in DHF. They may, however, occur as a complication in cases of prolonged shock with severe bleeding in various organs including the brain. Water intoxication, as a result of inappropriate use of hypotonic solution to treat DHF patients with hyponatraemia, is a relatively common iatrogenic complication that leads to encephalopathy. A subtle form of seizure is occasionally observed in infants under one year of age during the febrile phase and, in some cases, is considered to be febrile convulsions since the cerebrospinal fluid is normal. Subdural effusions have been observed in some cases.

In recent years there has been an increasing number of reports of DF or DHF with unusual manifestations. Unusual central nervous system manifestations, including convulsions, spasticity, change in consciousness and transient paresis, have been observed. Some of these cases may have encephalopathy as a complication of DHF with severe disseminated intravascular coagulation that may lead to focal occlusion or haemorrhage.

Fatal cases with encephalitic manifes-tations have been reported in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, India and Puerto Rico. However, in most cases there have been no autopsies to rule out bleeding or occlusion of the blood vessels. Although limited, there is some evidence that, on rare occasions, dengue viruses may cross the blood-brain barrier and infect the CNS. Further studies are needed to identify the factors contributing to these unusual manifestations. Attention should be given to the study of underlying host factors such as convulsive disorders and concurrent diseases.

Encephalopathy associated with acute liver failure is commonly observed and renal failure usually occurs at the terminal stage. Liver enzymes are markedly elevated in these cases, with serum aspartate aminotransferase about 2-3 times higher than serum alanine aminotransferase.

Other rarely observed, unusual manifes-tations of DF/DHF include acute renal failure and haemolytic uraemic syndrome. Some of these cases have been observed in patients with underlying host factors (e.g. G6P deficiency and haemoglobinopathy) that lead to intravascular haemolysis. Dual infections with other endemic diseases, such as leptospirosis, viral hepatitis B, and melioidosis, have been reported in cases with unusual manifestations.

Prevention And Control Measures

No vaccine is available yet for the prevention of dengue infection and there are no specific drugs for its treatment. Hence DF/DHF control is primarily dependent on the control of Ae. aegypti. Dengue control programmes in the Region have in general not been very successful, primarily because they have relied almost exclusively on space spraying of insecticides for adult mosquito control. However, space spraying requires specific operations which were often not adhered to, and most countries found it cost prohibitive. In order to achieve sustainability of a successful DF/DHF vector control programme, it is essential to focus on larval source reduction and to have complete cooperation with non-health sectors, such as nongovernmental organizations, civic organizations and community groups, to ensure community understanding and involvement in implementation. There is, therefore, a need to adopt an integrated approach to mosquito control by including all appropriate methods (environ-mental, biological and chemical) which are safe, cost-effective and environmentally acceptable. A successful, sustainable Ae. aegypti control programme must involve a partnership between government control agencies and the community. The approaches described below are considered necessary to achieve long-term, sustainable control of Ae. aegypti.

1. Environmental management: Environmental management involves any change that prevents or minimizes vector breeding and hence reduces human-vector contact. The control of Ae. aegypti in Cuba and Panama in the early part of this century was based mainly on environmental management. Such measures remain applicable wherever dengue is endemic. The World Health Organization (1982) has defined three kinds of environmental management viz. Environmental modification, which involves long-lasting physical transformation of vector habitats, environmental manipulation, which includes temporary changes to vector habitats that involve the management of "essential" and "nonessential" containers; and management or removal of "natural" breeding sites and changes to human habitation or behaviour.

Environmental modification

• Improved water supply: Whenever piped water supply is inadequate and available only at restricted hours or at low pressure, the storage of water in varied types of containers is encouraged, thus leading to increased Aedes breeding. The majority of such containers are large and heavy (e.g storage jars) and can neither be easily disposed of nor cleaned. In rural areas, unpolluted, disused wells become breeding grounds for Ae. aegypti. It is essential that potable water supplies be delivered in sufficient quantity, quality and consistency to reduce the necessity and use of water storage containers that serve as the most productive larval habitats.
• Mosquito-proofing of overhead tanks/cisterns or underground reservoirs: Where Ae. aegypti larval habitats include overhead tanks/cisterns and masonry chambers of piped waterlines, these structures should be mosquito-proofed. Similarly, mosquito-proofing of domestic wells and underground water storage tanks should be undertaken. Masonry chambers of sluice valves and water meters are required to be provided with soak pits as part of preventive maintenance.

Environmental manipulation including change in human habitat

• Draining of water supply installations: Water collection/leakages in masonry chambers, distribution pipes, valves, sluice valves, surface boxes for fire hydrants, water meters, etc. collect water and serve as important Ae.aegypti larval habitats in the absence of preventive maintenance.
• Domestic storage: The major sources of Ae. aegypti breeding in most urban areas of South-East Asia are containers storing water for household use including clay, ceramic and cement water jars of 200 litre size, 210 litre (50 gallon) metal drums, and smaller containers storing fresh water or rain water. Water storage containers should be covered with tight-fitting lids or screens; care being taken to replace them after water is used. An example of the efficacy of this approach has recently been demonstrated in Thailand.

Flower pots/vases and ant traps: Flower pots, flower vases and ant traps are common sources of Ae. aegypti breeding. They should be punctured to produce a drain hole. Alternatively, live flowers can be placed in a mixture of sand and water. Flowers should be removed and discarded weekly and vases scrubbed and cleaned before reuse. Brass flower pots, which make poor larval habitats, can be used in cemeteries in place of traditional glass containers. Ant traps to protect food storage cabinets can be treated with common salt or oil.

Aedes breeding in incidental water collections: Desert (evaporation) water coolers, condensation collection pans under refrigerators, and air conditioners should be regularly inspected, drained and cleaned. Desert water coolers generally employed in arid/semi-arid regions(44) of South-East Asia to cool houses during summer contain two manufacturing defects. These are as follows:

• The exit pipe at the bottom of the water-holding tray is generally fixed a few centimetres above the bottom. This exit pipe should be fitted at such a level that while emptying the tray, all the water should get drained off without any retention at the bottom.
• Desert coolers are normally fitted to windows with the exit pipe located on the exterior portion of the tray. These sites are usually difficult to access, and, therefore, there is a need to change the design so that both the filling and emptying of the water-holding trays can be manipulated from the room, thus eliminating the need of climbing to approach the exit pipe at the exterior of the building.

Building exteriors: The design of buildings is important to prevent Aedes breeding. Drainage pipes of rooftops sunshades/porticos often get blocked and become breeding sites for Aedes mosquitoes. There is a need for periodic inspection of buildings during the rainy season to locate potential breeding sites.

Mandatory water storage for fire fighting: Fire prevention regulations may require mandatory water storage. Such storage tanks need to be kept mosquito-proofed. In some municipalities in India(45), timber merchants are required to maintain two metal drums (50 gallons) full of water for fire fighting. These drums should be kept covered with tight lids. Also, metal drums used for water storage at construction sites should be mosquito-proofed.

Solid waste disposal: Solid wastes, namely tins, bottles, buckets or any other waste material scattered around houses, should be removed and buried in land fills. Scrap material in factories and warehouses should be stored appropriately until disposal. Household and garden utensils (buckets, bowls and watering devices) should be turned upside down to prevent the accumulation of rain water. Similarly, canoes and small boats should be emptied of water and turned upside down when not in use. Plant waste (coconut shells, cocoa husks) should be disposed of properly and without delay.

Tyre management: Used automobile tyres are of major importance as breeding sites for urban Aedes, and are therefore a significant public health problem. Imported used tyres are believed responsible for the introduction of Ae. albopictus into the United States, Europe and Africa. Tyre depots should always be kept under cover to prevent the collection of rain water. New technologies for tyre recycling and disposal are continually coming into use, but most of them have proved to be of limited application or cost-effectiveness. Used tyres can be filled with earth or concrete and used for planters or traffic/crash barriers. They may also be used as soil erosion barriers, or used to create artificial reefs and reduce beach erosion by wave action. Tyres can also be recycled for sandals, floor mats, industrial washers, gaskets, buckets, garbage pails and carpet backing, while truck tyres have been made into durable, low-cost refuse containers.

Filling of cavities of fences: Fences and fence posts made from hollow trees such as bamboo should be cut down to the node, and concrete blocks should be filled with packed sand, crushed glass, or concrete to eliminate potential Aedes larval habitats.

Glass bottles and cans: Glass bottles, cans and other small containers should be buried in land fills or crushed and recycled for industrial use.

2. Personal Protection

Protective clothing: Clothing reduces the risk of mosquito biting if the cloth is sufficiently thick or loosely fitting. Long sleeves and trousers with stockings may protect the arms and legs, the preferred sites for mosquito bites. Schoolchildren should adhere to these practices whenever possible. Impregnating clothing with chemicals such as permethrin can be especially effective in preventing mosquito bites.

Mats, coils and aerosols: Household insecticidal products, namely mosquito coils, pyrethrum space spray and aerosols have been used extensively for personal protection against mosquitoes. Electric vaporizer mats and liquid vaporizers are more recent additions which are marketed in practically all urban areas.

Repellents: Repellents are a common means of personal protection against mosquitoes and other biting insects. These are broadly classified into two categories, natural repellents and chemical repellents. Essential oils from plant extracts are the main natural repellent ingredients, i.e. citronella oil, lemongrass oil and neem oil. Chemical repellents such as DEET (N, N-Diethyl-m-Toluamide) can provide protection against Ae. albopictus, Ae. aegypti and anopheline species for several hours. Permethrin is an effective repellant when impregnated in cloth.

Insecticide-treated mosquito nets and curtains: Insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITMN) have limited utility in dengue control programmes, since the vector species bites during the day. However, treated nets can be effectively utilized to protect infants and night workers who sleep by day. They can also be effective for people who generally have an afternoon sleep. "Olyset net", a wide mesh net woven from polyethylene thread containing 2% permethrin, is yet another improvement in ITMN technology. This net has two advantages over traditional nets in that the wide mesh permits better ventilation and light, and the treated thread enables a slow release of permethrin to the fibre surface, ensuring a long residual effect (over a year). In studies carried out in Malaysia, four washings with soap and water did not diminish the efficacy and the mortality of Ae. aegypti was 86.7%. For control of DF/DHF in Vietnam, Olyset net curtains were hung on the inside against doors/windows; Ae. aegypti was adversely affected and dengue virus transmission was interrupted. Further studies on impregnated fabrics appear warranted.

3. Biological Control

The application of biological control agents which are directed against the larval stages of dengue vectors in South-East Asia has been somewhat restricted to small-scale field operations.

Fish: Larvivorus fish (Gambusia affinis and Poecilia reticulata) have been extensively used for the control of An. stephensi and/or Ae. aegypti in large water bodies or large water containers in many countries in South-East Asia. The applicability and efficiency of this control measure depend on the type of containers.

Bacteria: Two species of endotoxin-producing bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis serotype H-14 (Bt.H-14) and Bacillus sphaericus (Bs) are effective mosquito control agents. They do not affect non-target species. Bt.H-14 has been found to be most effective against An. stephensi and Ae. aegypti, while Bs is the most effective against Culex quinquefasciatus which breeds in polluted waters. There is a whole range of formulated Bti products produced by several major companies for control of vector mosquitoes. Such products include wettable powders and various slow-release formulations including briquettes, tablets and pellets. Further developments are expected in slow-release formulations. Bt.H-14 has an extremely low-level mammalian toxicity and has been accepted for the control of mosquitoes in containers storing water for household use.

Cyclopoids: The predatory role of copepod crustaceans was documented between 1930-50, but scientific evaluation was taken up only in 1980 in Tahiti, French Polynesia, where it was found that Mesocyclops aspericornis could effect a 99.3% mortality rate among Aedes (Stegomyia) larvae and 9.7% and 1.9%, respectively among Cx. quinquefasciatus and Toxorhynchities amboinensis larvae. Trials in crab burrows against Ae. polynesiensis and in water tanks, drums, and covered wells met with mixed results. In Queensland, Australia, out of seven species evaluated in the laboratory, all but M. notius were found to be effective predators of both Ae. aegypti and An. farauti but not against Cx. quinquifasciatus. Field releases in both northern and southern Queensland, however, showed mixed results. In Thailand, results were also mixed, but in Vietnam, results were more successful, contributing to the eradication of Ae. aegypti from one village. Although the lack of nutrients and frequent cleaning of some containers can prevent the sustainability of copepods, they could be suitable for large containers which cannot be cleaned regularly (wells, concrete tanks and tyres). They can also be used in conjunction with Bt.H-14. Copepods have a role in dengue vector control, but more research is required on the feasibility of operational use.

Autocidal ovitraps: Autocidal ovitraps were successfully used in Singapore as a control device in the eradication of Ae. aegypti from the Changgi international airport. In Thailand, this autocidal trap was further modified as an auto-larval trap using plastic material available locally. Unfortunately, under the local conditions of water storage practices in Thailand, the technique was not very efficient in reducing natural populations of Ae. aegypti. Better results can be expected if the number of existing potential larval habitats is reduced, or more autocidal traps are placed in the area under control, or both activities are carried out simultaneously. It is believed that, under certain conditions, this technique could be an economical and rapid means of reducing the natural density of adult females as well as serve as a device for monitoring infestations in areas where some reduction in population densities of the vector have already taken place. However, the successful application of autocidal ovitraps/larval traps depends on the number placed, the location of placement, and their attractiveness as Ae. aegypti female oviposition sites.

4. Chemical Control

Chemicals have been used to control Ae. aegypti since the turn of the century. In the first campaigns against the yellow fever vector in Cuba and Panama, in conjunction with widespread clean-up campaigns, Aedes larval habitats were treated with oil and houses were fumigated with pyrethrins. When the insecticidal properties of DDT were discovered in the 1940s, this compound became a principal method of Ae. aegypti eradication programmes in the Americas. When resistance to DDT emerged in the early 1960s, organophosphate insecticides, including fenthion, malathion and fenitrothion were used for Ae. aegypti adult control and temephos as a larvicide. Current methods for applying insecticides include larvicide application and space spraying.

Chemical Larviciding: Larviciding or "focal" control of Ae. aegypti is usually limited to domestic-use containers that cannot be destroyed, eliminated, or otherwise managed. It is difficult and expensive to apply chemical larvicides on a long-term basis. Therefore chemical larvicides are best used in situations where the disease and vector surveillance indicate the existence of certain periods of high risk and in localities where outbreaks might occur. Establishing the precise timing and location are essential for maximum effectiveness. Control personnel distributing the larvicide should always encourage house occupants to control larvae by environmental sanitation. There are three insecticides that can be used for treating containers that hold drinking water.

Temephos 1% sand granules: One per cent temephos sand granules are applied to containers using a calibrated plastic spoon to administer a dosage of 1 ppm. This dosage has been found to be effective for 8-12 weeks, especially in porous earthen jars, under normal water use patterns. Although resistance to temephos in Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus populations has not been reported from the South-East Asia Region, the susceptibility level of Aedes mosquitoes should be monitored regularly in order to ensure the effective use of the insecticide.

Insect growth regulators: Insect growth regulators (IGRs) interfere with the development of the immature stages of the mosquito by interference of chitin synthesis during the molting process in larvae or disruption of pupal and adult transformation processes. Most IGRs have extremely low mammalian toxicity (LD50 value of acute oral toxicity for methoprene (Altosid) is 34 600 mg/kg). In general, IGRs may provide long-term residual effects (three to six months) at relatively low dosages when used in porous earthen jars. Because IGRs do not cause immediate mortality of the immature mosquitoes, countries with legislation stipulating that the breeding of Aedes larvae is an offense, will require some alteration of the law, so as not to penalize home owners who use these compounds.

Space sprays: Space spraying involves the application of small droplets of insecticide into the air in an attempt to kill adult mosquitoes. It has been the principal method of DF/DHF control used by most countries in the Region for 25 years. Unfortunately, it has not been effective, as illustrated by the dramatic increase in DHF incidence in these countries during the same period of time. Recent studies have demonstrated that the method has little effect on the mosquito population, and thus on dengue transmission. Moreover, when space spraying is conducted in a community, it creates a false sense of security among residents, which has a detrimental effect on community-based source reduction programmes. From a political point of view, however, it is a desirable approach because it is highly visible and conveys the message that the government is doing something about the disease. This, however, is poor justification for using space sprays. The current recommendations are that space spraying of insecticides (fogging) should not be used except in the most extreme conditions during a major DHF epidemic. However, the operations should be carried out at the right time, at the right place, and according to the prescribed instructions with maximum coverage, so that the fog penetration effect is complete enough to achieve the desired results. 
When space sprays are employed, it is important to follow the instructions on both the application equipment and the insecticide label and to make sure the application equipment is well maintained and properly calibrated. Droplets that are too small tend to drift beyond the target area, while large droplets fall out rapidly. Nozzles for ultra-low volume ground equipment should be capable of producing droplets in the 5 to 27 micron range and the mass median diameter should not exceed the droplet size recommended by the manufacturer. Desirable spray characteristics include a sufficient period of suspension in the air with suitable drift and penetration into target areas with the ultimate aim of impacting adult mosquitoes. Generally, there are two forms of space-spray that have been used for Ae. aegypti control, namely "thermal fogs" and "cold fogs". Both can be dispensed by vehicle-mounted or hand-operated machines.

Thermal fogs: Thermal fogs containing insecticides are normally produced when a suitable formulation condenses after being vaporized at a high temperature. Generally, a thermal fogging machine employs the resonant pulse principle to generate hot gas (over 200oC) at high velocity. These gases atomize the insecticide formulation instantly so that it is vaporized and condensed rapidly with only negligible formulation breakdown. Thermal fogging formulations can be oil-based or water-based. The oil(diesel)-based formulations produce dense clouds of white smoke, whereas water-based formulations produce a colorless fine mist. The droplet (particle) size of a thermal fog is usually less than 15 microns in diameter. The exact droplet size depends on the type of machine and operational conditions. However, uniform droplet size is difficult to achieve in normal fogging operations.

Ultra-low volume (ULV), aerosols (cold fogs) and mists: ULV involves the application of a small quantity of concentrated liquid insecticides. The use of less than 4.6 litres/ha of an insecticide concentrate is usually considered as an ULV application. ULV is directly related to the application volume and not to the droplet size. Nevertheless, droplet size is important and the equipment used should be capable of producing droplets in the 10 to 15 micron range, although the effectiveness changes little when the droplet size range is extended to 5-25 microns. The droplet size should be monitored by exposure on teflon or silocone-coated slides and examined under a microscope. Aerosols, mists and fogs may be applied by portable machines, vehicle-mounted generators or aircraft equipment.

House-to-house application using portable equipment: Portable spray units can be used when the area to be treated is not very large or in areas where vehicle-mounted equipment cannot be used effectively. This equipment is meant for restricted outdoor use and for enclosed spaces (buildings) of not less than 14m3.Portable application can be made in congested low-income housing areas, multistoried buildings, godowns and warehouses, covered drains, sewer tanks and residential or commercial premises. Operators can treat an average of 80 houses per day, but the weight of the machine and the vibrations caused by the engine make it necessary to allow the operators to rest, so that two or three operators are required per machine.

Vehicle-mounted fogging: Vehicle-mounted aerosol generators can be used in urban or suburban areas with a good road system. One machine can cover up to 1500-2000 houses (or approximately 80 ha) per day. It is necessary to calibrate the equipment, vehicle speed, and swath width (60-90m) to determine the coverage obtained by a single pass. A good map of the area showing all roads is of great help in undertaking the application. An educational effort may be required to persuade the residents to cooperate by opening doors and windows. The speed of the vehicle and the time of day of application are important factors to consider when insecticides are applied by ground vehicles. The vehicle should not travel faster than 16 kph (10 mph). When the wind speed is greater than 16 kph or when the ambient air temperature is greater than 28oC (82oF), the insecticide should not be applied(25). The best time for application is in the early morning (approximately 0600-0830 hours) or late afternoon (approximately 1700-1930 hours).

Insecticide formulations for space sprays: Organophosphate insecticides, such as malathion, fenitrothion and pirimiphos methyl have been used for the control of adult Aedes vectors. Undiluted technical grade malathion (active ingredient 95%+) or one part technical grade diluted with 24 parts of diesel have been used for ULV spraying and thermal fogging respectively. For undiluted technical grade ULV malathion applications from vehicles, the dosage on an area basis is 0.5 liters per hectare. Apart from the above-mentioned formulations, a number of companies produce pyrethroid formulations containing either permethrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothin or other compounds which can be used for space spray applications. It is important not to under-dose during operational conditions. Low dosages of pyrethroid insecticides are usually more effective indoors than outdoors.

Integrated Control Approach: The use of insecticides for the prevention and control of dengue vectors should be integrated into environmental methods wherever possible. During periods of little or no dengue virus activity, the routine source reduction measures described earlier can be integrated into larvicide application in containers that cannot be eliminated, covered, filled or otherwise managed. For emergency control to suppress a dengue virus epidemic or to prevent an imminent outbreak, a programme of rapid and massive destruction of the Ae. aegypti population should be undertaken with both insecticides and source reduction, using the techniques described in these guidelines in an integrated manner.

Insecticide susceptibility monitoring: During the past 40 years, chemicals have been widely used to control mosquitoes and other insects from spreading diseases of public health importance. As a result, Ae. aegypti and other dengue vectors in several countries have developed resistance to commonly-used insecticides, including temephos, malathion, fenthion, permethrin, propoxur and fenitrothion. It is therefore advisable to obtain baseline data on insecticide susceptibility before insecticidal control operations are started, and to continue monitoring susceptibility levels periodically. WHO kits are available for testing the susceptibility of adult and larval mosquitoes and other arthropod vectors to commonly-used insecticides. These can be obtained from the Communicable Diseases Cluster, World Health Organization, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, or through WHO Regional Offices or WHO Representatives in the countries.

Long Term Prevention Strategy

1. Community Participation

Community participation (CP) has been defined "as a process whereby individuals, families and communities are involved in the planning and conduct of local vector control activities so as to ensure that the programme meets the local needs and priorities of the people who live in the community, and promotes community's self-reliance in respect to development." In short, CP entails the creation of opportunities that enable all members of the community and extended society to actively contribute to, influence the development of, and share equitably in the fruits of accrued benefits. Objectives of community participation in dengue prevention and control:

• To extend the coverage of the programme to the whole community by creating community awareness. This however often requires intensive inputs.
• To make the programme more efficient and cost-effective, with greater coordination of resources, activities and efforts pooled by the community.
• To make the programme more effective through joint community efforts to set goals, objectives and strategies for action.
• To promote equity through sharing of responsibility, and through solidarity in serving those in greatest need and at greatest risk.
• To promote self-reliance among community members and increase their sense of control over their own health and destiny.

How to invoke community participation

• By showing concern: Community and government organizers should reflect the true concern for human suffering, i.e. morbidity and mortality due to dengue in the country, economic losses to the families and the country, and how the benefits of the programme fit into the people's needs and expectations.
• Initiating dialogue: Community organizers and opinion leaders or other key personnel in the power structure of the community, namely women's groups, youth groups and civic organizations, should be identified. Dialogue should be undertaken through personal contacts, group discussions and film shows. Interaction should generate mutual understanding, trust and confidence, enthusiasm and motivation. The interaction should not be a one-time affair, but should be a continuing dialogue to achieve sustainability.
• Creating community ownership: Organizers should use community ideas and participation to initiate the programme, community leaders to assist the programme, and community resources to fund the programme. Mosquito control, abatement agency and community partnerships should be strong, but limited to providing technical guidance and expertise.
• Health education (HE): Health education should not be based on telling people the do's and don'ts through a vertical, top-down communication process. Instead, health education should be based on formative research to identify what is important to the community and should be implemented at three levels, i.e. the community level, systems level and political level.

Community level: People should not only be provided with knowledge and skills on vector control, but education materials should empower them with the knowledge that allows them to make positive health choices and gives them the ability to act individually and collectively.

Systems level: To enable people to mobilize local actions and societal forces beyond a single community, i.e. health, development and social services.

Political level: Mechanisms must be made available to allow people to articulate their health priorities to political authorities. This will facilitate placing vector control high on the priority agenda and effectively lobby for policies and actions.

Defining community actions: For sustaining DF/DHF prevention and control programmes, the following community actions are essential:

• At the individual level, encourage each household to adopt routine health measures that will help in the control of DF and DHF, including source reduction and implementa-tion of proper personal protection measures.
• At the community level, organize "clean-up" campaigns two or more times a year to control the larval habitats of the vectors in public and private areas of the community. Some key factors for the success of such campaigns include extensive publicity via mass media, posters and pamphlets, proper planning, pre-campaign evaluation of foci, execution in the community as promised, and follow-up evaluations. Participation by municipal sanitation services should be promoted.
• Where community-wide participation is difficult to arrange for geographical, occupational or demographic reasons, participation can be arranged through voluntary associations and organizations. The people in these organizations may interact daily in work or institutional settings, or come together for special purposes, i.e. religious activities, civic clubs, women's groups and schools.
• Emphasize school-based programmes targeting children and parents to eliminate vector breeding at home and at school.
• Challenge and encourage the private sector to participate in the beautification and sanitary improvement of the community as sponsors, emphasizing source reduction of dengue vectors.
• Combine community participation in DHF prevention and control with other priorities of community development. Where municipal services (such as refuse collection, wastewater disposal, provision of potable water, etc.) are either lacking or inadequate, the community and their partners can be mobilized to improve such services, and at the same time reduce the larval habitats of Aedes vectors as part of an overall effort at community development.
• Combine dengue vector control with the control of all species of disease-bearing and nuisance mosquitoes as well as other vermin, to ensure greater benefits for the community and consequently greater participation in neighborhood campaigns.
• Arrange novel incentives for those who participate in community programmes for dengue control. For example, a nationwide competition can be promoted to identify the cleanest communities or those with the lowest larval indices within an urban area.
  
2. Intersectoral Coordination

Developing economies in countries of the South-East Asia Region have recognized many social, economic and environmental problems which promote mosquito breeding. The dengue problem thus exceeds the capabilities of ministries of health. The prevention and control of dengue requires close collaboration and partnerships between the health and non-health sectors (both government and private), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and local communities. During epidemics such cooperation becomes even more critical, since it requires pooling of resources from all groups to check the spread of the disease. Intersectoral cooperation involves at least two components:

• Resource-sharing
• Policy adjustments among the various ministries and nongovernmental sectors.

Resource sharing

Resource sharing should be sought wherever the dengue control coordinator can make use of underutilized human resources, e.g. for local manufacture of needed tools, seasonal government labourers for water supply improvement activities, or community and youth groups to clean up discarded tyres and containers in neighbourhoods. The dengue control programme should seek the accommodation or adjustment of existing policies and practices of other ministries, sectors, and municipal governments to include public health as a central focus for their goals. For instance, the public works sector could be encouraged to adjust its policies to give first priority to water supply improvements for communities at highest risk of dengue. In return, the Ministry of Health could authorize the use of some of its field staff to assist the ministry responsible for public works to repair water supply and sewerage systems in other urban areas. The following examples show how several government ministries may contribute to dengue vector control efforts.

Role of the ministry responsible for public works: The ministry responsible for public works and its municipal counterparts should play a key role in dengue control. They can contribute to source reduction by providing a safe, dependable water supply, adequate sanitation, and effective solid waste management. In addition, through the adoption and enforcement of housing and building codes, a municipality may mandate the provision of utilities such as individual household piped water supplies or sewerage connections, and rainwater (storm water) run-off control for new housing developments, or forbid open surface wells.

Role of the Ministry of Education: The Ministry of Health should work closely with the Ministry of Education to develop a health education (health communication) component targeted at school children, and devise and communicate appropriate health messages. Health education models can be jointly developed, tested, implemented and evaluated for various age groups. Research programmes in universities and colleges can be encouraged to include components that produce information of direct importance (e.g. vector biology and control, case management) or indirect importance (e.g. improved water supply, educational inter-ventions to promote community sanitation, waste characterization studies) to dengue control programmes.

Role of the ministry responsible for the environment: The Ministry of Environment can help the Ministry of Health collect data and information on ecosystems and habitats in or around cities at high risk of dengue. Data and information on local geology and climate, land usages, forest cover, surface waters, and human populations are useful in planning control measures for specific ecosystems and habitats. The Ministry of Environment may also be helpful in determining the beneficial and adverse impacts of various Ae. aegypti control tactics (chemical, environmental and biological).

Role of the ministry responsible for information, communication and the mass media: Information directed at the community at large is best achieved through the mass media, such as television, radio and newspapers. Therefore, the ministry responsible for information, communication and the mass media should be approached to coordinate the release of messages on the prevention and control of dengue developed by public health specialists.

Role of Nongovernmental organization (NGOs): NGOs can play an important role in promoting community participation and implementing environmental management for dengue vector control. This will most often involve health education, source reduction, and housing improvement related to vector control. Community NGOs may be informal neighbourhood groups or formal private voluntary organizations, service clubs, churches or other religious groups, or environmental and social action groups. 

After proper training by the Ministry of Health staff in source reduction methods, NGOs can collect discarded containers (tyres, bottles, tins, etc.), clean drains and culverts, fill depressions, remove abandoned cars and roadside junk, and distribute sand or cement to fill tree holes. NGOs may also play a key role in the development of recycling activities to remove discarded containers from yards and streets. Such activities must be coordinated with the environmental sanitation service. 

NGOs may also be able to play a specific, but as yet unexplored, role in environmental management during epidemic control. Under guidance from the Ministry of Health, NGOs could concentrate on the physical control of locally identified, key breeding sites such as water drums, waste tyre piles, and cemetery flower vases.

Service clubs such as Rotary International have supported DF/DHF prevention and control programmes in the American Region for over 15 years. In Asia and the Pacific, programmes have been initiated in Sri Lanka, Philippines, Indonesia and Australia to provide economic and political support for successful community-based campaigns. A new grant from the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International \as been awarded to study the possibility of up scaling this project to a global programme. Women's clubs have contributed to Ae. aegypti control by conducting household inspections for foci and carrying out source reduction. There are many opportunities, mostly untapped, for environmental organizations and religious service groups to play similar roles in each Ae. aegypti-infested community.

3. Model Development: Model development for dengue control through a community participation approach should be initiated in order to define potential prime movers in the communities and to study ways to persuade them to participate in vector control activities. Social, economic and cultural factors that promote or discourage the participation of these groups should be intensively studied in order to gain more participation from the community. Model development focusing on school children has been studied in several countries and this strategy should be modified and introduced into each country.
   
4. Social Mobilization: Advocacy meetings should be conducted for policy makers to attain political commitment for mass clean-up campaigns and environmental sanitation. Intersectoral coordination meetings should be conducted to explore possible donors for m\ass antilarval control campaigns and measures and to help finance the programme. Reorientation training of health workers should be conducted to improve their technical capability and ability to supervise prevention and control activities. A "DHF month" should be identified twice a year, during the pre-transmission season and during the peak transmission period.
   
5. Health Education: Health education is very important in achieving community participation. It is a long-term process to achieve human behavioural change, and thus should be carried out on a continuous basis. Even though countries may have limited resources, health education should be given priority in endemic areas and in areas at high risk for DHF. Health education is conducted through the different channels of personal communication, group educational activities, and mass media. Health education can be implemented by women's groups, school teachers, formal and informal community leaders, and health workers. Health education efforts should be intensified before the period of dengue transmission as one of the components of social mobilization. Th\e main target groups are school children and women.
   
6. Legislative support: Legislative support is essential for the success of dengue control programmes. All countries of the Region have legislation addressing control of epidemic diseases which authorize health officers to take necessary action within the community for the control of epidemics. On a continuous and sustainable basis, various municipalities have adapted legislation for the prevention of "nuisance mosquitoes", however they lack specific provision related to dengue and/or Ae. aegypti control. At the national level, all countries are signatories to the International Health Regulations which have a specific provision for the control of Ae. aegypti and other disease vectors around international sea/airports.

The formulation of legislate/on on dengue/Ae.aegypti control should, therefore, take into consideration the following points:

• Legislation should be a necessary component of all dengue/Ae.aegypti prevention and control programmes.
• All existing decrees and resolutions on dengue/Ae.aegypti prevention and control must be reviewed, and their effectiveness evaluated in terms of structural, institutional and administrative changes. It is also important to add dengue to the list of diseases that require mandatory notification in each country.
• Regulations should be formulated on the basis of existing sanitary codes, a strategy that is most needed in those countries which lack legislation on the subject. In countries where sanitary regulations are primarily the responsibility of agencies other than the Ministry of Health (e.g. municipal governments), a coordinated and cooperative line of action with the ministry should be developed.
• Legislation should incorporate municipal authorities from affected regions as the central element for implementation and enforcement. Where national legislation is weak or absent, municipal governments may consider the adoption of local ordinances for Ae. aegypti control.
• Legislation should contemplate intersectoral coordination among the ministries involved in national development in order to prevent isolated implementation of individual programmes and harmful environmental changes that could create potentially hazardous public health conditions. Ministries should be advised on the best ways to encourage disease prevention.
• Legislation should cover all aspects of environmental sanitation in order to effectively contribute to the prevention of all transmissible diseases.aimed at developing human resources within the institutional framework.
• In developing legislation, the social component must be considered. Legislation should seek support based on justice and justification: individuals and the community must be persuaded that the law is good and that it is intended to protect them and their families, and that compliance with it is one of the most important components for dengue control.
• Laws should contemplate the existing judicial administrative framework in the context of national public administration. Importance should also be placed on norms.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Dengue fever (DF)?

Dengue infection is caused by a virus. It occurs commonly as dengue fever. Occasionally the patient suffering from dengue may develop bleeding. Common sites for bleeding are nose, gums or skin. Sometimes, the patient may have coffee ground vomiting or black stools. This indicates bleeding in gastro intestinal tracts and it is serious. The patient with dengue who has bleeding has dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF). Rarely the patient suffering from dengue may develop shock, then it is called dengue shock syndrome (DSS).

2. What is Dengue fever (DF)?

Dengue infection is caused by a virus. It occurs commonly as dengue fever. Occasionally the patient suffering from dengue may develop bleeding. Common sites for bleeding are nose, gums or skin. Sometimes, the patient may have coffee ground vomiting or black stools. This indicates bleeding in gastro intestinal tracts and it is serious. The patient with dengue who has bleeding has dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF). Rarely the patient suffering from dengue may develop shock, then it is called dengue shock syndrome (DSS).

3. When should I suspect Dengue?

Dengue should be suspected when you have sudden onset of fever. The fever is high 103-105 degrees F or 39-40 degrees C. It is accompanied with severe headache (mostly in the forehead), pain behind the eyes, body aches and pains, rash on the skin and nausea or vomiting. The fever lasts for 5-7 days. In some patients, fever comes down on 3rd or 4th day but comes back. All the above symptoms and signs may not be present in the patient. The patient feels much discomfort after the illness.

4. There are several types of fever, when should dengue be suspected?

The characteristics of dengue that make it different from other causes of fever are the pain behind the eyes, severe pains in the muscles, severe joint pains, and skin rashes. These features make the diagnosis of suspected Dengue likely. The severe joint pains caused by DF is the reason why DF is also called break-bone fever.

5. What is the difference between suspected and probable case of dengue?

If a patient suspected to be having dengue has reduced platelets or an increase in blood haematocrit, then the patient has probable dengue. These additional findings make dengue more likely. Patients with dengue may not have a high haematocrit if the person was anaemic to start with. 

6. Can you get dengue again after suffering from it once?

It is possible to get dengue more than once. Dengue can occur because of 4 different but related strains of dengue virus. If a person has suffered from one virus, there can be a repeat occurrence of dengue if a different strain is involved subsequently. Being affected by one strain offers no protection against the others. A person could suffer from dengue more than once in her/his lifetime. 

7. Can the diagnosis of dengue be confirmed?

There are laboratory tests that provide direct or indirect evidence for dengue fever. These tests provide evidence for the occurrence of dengue infection. There are some additional tests that can help to identify the type of dengue infection. The tests for confirmation of Dengue should be done in reliable laboratories.

8. How can someone get dengue fever?

Dengue fever occurs following the bite of an infected mosquito Aedes aegypti.This type of mosquito has a peculiar white spotted body and legs and is easy to recognize even by laymen. It breeds in clean water (see Question 20) and has a flight range of only 100 - 200 metres. The mosquito gets the Dengue virus after biting a human being infected with dengue virus. 

9. When does dengue develop after getting the infection?

After the entry of the virus in the person, it multiplies in the lymph glands in the body. The symptoms develop when the virus has multiplied in sufficient numbers to cause the symptoms. This happens generally about 4-6 days (average) after getting infected with the virus. 

10. Can people suffer from dengue and not appear ill?

Yes, There are many people who are infected with the virus and do not suffer from any signs or symptoms of the disease. For every patient with symptoms and signs there may be 4-5 persons with no symptoms or with very mild symptoms. 

11. Can dengue fever be treated at home?

Most patients with dengue fever can be treated at home. They should take rest, drink plenty of fluids that are available at home and eat nutritious diet. Whenever available, Oral Rehydration Salt/ORS (commoin treating diarrhoea) is preferable. Sufficient fluid intake is very important and becomes more important in case DF progresses into DHF or DSS where loss of body fluid / blood is the most salient feature. It is important to look for danger signs and contact the doctor as soon as any one or more of these are found.

12. What is the treatment? Is it curable? 

Like most viral diseases there is no specific cure for dengue fever. Antibiotics do not help. Paracetamol (can be purchased without prescription) is the drug of choice to bring down fever and joint pain. Other medicines such as Aspirin and Brufen should be avoided since they can increase the risk of bleeding. Doctors should be very careful when prescribing medicines. Any medicines that decrease platelets should be avoided.

13. Can dengue fever become dangerous?

The infection can become dangerous since it may cause damage to the blood vessels. The damage may range from increased permeability of the blood vessels, causing leakage of blood fluid/plasma into various organs to completely broken blood vessels that causes bleeding. The symptoms and signs of dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome are related to damage to the blood vessels and derangement in functioning in components of blood that help it to clot.

14. Can people die from dengue fever?

People who suffer from dengue fever have no risk of death but some of them develop Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever or Dengue Shock Syndrome. In some of these cases death can occur. With proper treatment, the patients with Dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome can recover fully. Good treatment provided in time can save most lives.

15. When should a patient suffering from Dengue go to the hospital or consult a doctor?

Generally the progress towards dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome occur after 3-5 days of fever. At this time, fever has often come down. This may mislead many of us to believe that the patient is heading towards recovery. In fact, this is the most dangerous period that requires high vigilance from care-givers. The signs and symptoms that should be looked for are severe pain in the abdomen, persistent vomiting, bleeding from any site like, bleeding in the skin appearing as small red or purplish spots, nose bleed, bleeding from gums, passage of black stools like coal tar. Bring the patient to the hospital whenever the first two signs, namely, severe pain in the abdomen and persistent vomiting are detected. Usually it is too late if we wait until bleeding has occurred. The most dangerous type of dengue is the dengue shock syndrome. It is recognized by signs like excessive thirst, pale and cold skin (due to very low blood pressure), restlessness and a feeling of weakness. 

16. Is there a vaccine to prevent dengue fever?

A vaccine has been developed to prevent dengue fever but it is still under trial. It is not yet available in the market. Scientific progress is likely to help in prevention of dengue fever by vaccination in the years to come. 

17. Are there any long term ill effects of dengue fever?

Most people who suffer from dengue fever recover in 1-2 weeks time. Some may feel tired for several weeks. However, if symptoms persist after this period, consult a doctor.

18. Where does the mosquito that spreads dengue live?

The highly domestic mosquito Aedes aegypti rests indoors, in closets and other dark places. Outside it rests where it is cool and shaded. The female mosquito lays her eggs in water containers in and around the homes, and other dwellings. These eggs will develop, become larvae, and further develop into adults in about 10 days.

19. How can the multiplication of mosquitoes be reduced?

Dengue mosquitoes breed in stored, exposed water collections. Favoured places for breeding are barrels, drums, jars, pots, buckets, flower vases, plant saucers, tanks, discarded bottles, tins, tyres, water coolers etc. To prevent the mosquitoes from multiplying, drain out the water from desert coolers/window air coolers (when not in use), tanks, barrels, drums, buckets etc. Remove all objects containing water (e.g. plant saucers etc.) from the house. Collect and destroy discarded containers in which water collects e.g. bottles, plastic bags, tins, used tyres etc. In case it is not possible to drain out various water collections or to fully cover them, use TEMEPHOS, an insecticide, ( brand name Abate1 part per million according to the local guidelines to prevent larvae from developing into adults.

20. How can I prevent mosquito bites to prevent dengue?

There is no way to tell if a mosquito is carrying the dengue virus. Therefore, people must protect themselves from all mosquito bites. Dengue mosquitoes bite during the day time throughout the day. Highest biting intensity is about 2 hours after sunrise and before sunset.Wear full sleeves clothes and long dresses to cover as much of your body as possible. Use repellents- be careful in using them in young children and old people. Use mosquito coils and electric vapour mats during the daytime also to prevent dengue.Use mosquito nets to protect children, old people and others who may rest during the day. The effectiveness of these nets can be improved by treating them with permethrin (pyrethroid insecticide). This bed-net is called Insecticide Treated Nets and are widely used in the prevention of malaria.

21. Is there any advice for the patient with dengue fever to prevent the spread of the disease to others?

The spread of dengue from a patient to others is possible. The patient should be protected from contact with the mosquito. This can be achieved by ensuring that the patient sleeps under a bed-net. Effective mosquito repellents are used where the patient is being provided care. This will prevent the mosquito from biting the patient and from getting infected and spreading it to others. 

22. What is your advice on travel if there is an outbreak of dengue?

There is no travel restriction. However, you should be aware of what to do if you are traveling an area where dengue has been reported. This includes observing prevention measures described in these frequently asked questions and answers and reporting to the doctor if you have fever and are worried that it might be dengue fever.

23. What should the doctors treating dengue do ?

Patients suspected to be suffering from dengue haemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome should be admitted to a hospital without delay.The progress of these patients should be monitored regularly at 1-2 hours interval.Platelet counts and haematocrits should be monitored repeatedly to review the progress of patients.If the haematocrit levels fall dangerously then a blood transfusion should be considered. A fall of more than 20 % as compared to previous levels may be an indication for transfusion. If the haematocrit values rise the patient should be given fluids intravenously and the fluids carefully monitored to ensure that the patient does not get excess fluids. A rise of more than 20 % as compared to previous levels may be an indication for IV fluids. The doctor should decide based on best judgement of patient's condition.

24. What should the doctors treating dengue avoid?

Do not prescribe aspirin and brufen or any other medicine that reduces the platelets or increases the tendency to bleed.Avoid giving IV fluids unless the patient is bleeding or the haematocrit level is rising progressively.Avoid rushing into giving blood transfusion unless the haematocrit is falling dangerously. Do not give platelet transfusion unless the platelet count is very low or unless there is bleeding.

25. What is your advice regarding reporting of dengue?

All suspected or probable dengue cases should be reported to the health authorities. Further confirmation of the cases is done by the health authorities. Seek their guidance on blood collection and transportation of samples from suspected/probable cases of dengue.

26. What can the community do to prevent dengue?

In fact, the community is the key to dengue prevention. As elaborated above, prevention of dengue relies heavily on preventing the mosquito (Aedes aegypti) that transmits dengue from breeding inside and in the vicinity of homes. Every household can undertake the very simple measures to prevent existing water collections from becoming places for breeding of A.aegypti by draining out water from various containers, by regular changing of water plus cleaning flower vases and other items or, in the case of unused items, by discarding/destroying them.Since the mosquito does not travel far, "house cleaning" by all members of a community will ensure that no breeding places exist, preventing dengue from occurring.The main strategy in the prevention and control of dengue is "source reduction", or prevention of breeding places, mentioned above.

27. In the case of a dengue outbreak or epidemic what are our strategies?

Prevention of mosquito breeding places remains our mainstay. However to stop or to slow down the transmission it may be supplemented by "thermal fogging", using fogging machines. In fogging,we use an insecticide that has an immediate knock-down effect on adult mosquitos. When fogging is undertaken after an epidemic occurs, it is unfortunately too late. Fogging, to be effective, should be done at about 3-4 days interval. It is expensive and time consuming. Therefore, measures undertaken by the community, for the community, to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes is far more cost-effective than containment measures once an outbreak occurs.

Fact Sheets On Dengue

General
Dengue is an acute fever caused by a virus. It occurs in two forms:

1. Dengue Fever.
2. Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever.

Dengue fever is marked by the onset of sudden high fever, severe headache and pain behind the eyes, muscles and joints.

Dengue Haemorrhagic fever (DHF) is a more severe form, in which bleeding and sometimes shock occurs - leading to death. It is most serious in children. Symptoms of bleeding usually occur after 3-5 days of fever.

The high fever continues for five to six days (103 - 105 OF or 39- 40 OC). It comes down on the third or the fourth day but rises again. The patient feels much discomfort and is very weak after the illness.

Dengue spreads rapidly and may affect large number of people during an epidemic resulting in reduced work productivity, but most importantly causing the loss of lives.

Recognition of Dengue Fever

• Sudden onset of high fever
• Severe headache (mostly in the forehead)
• Pain behind the eyes which worsens with eye movement
• Body aches and joint pains
• Nausea or vomiting

Recognition of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever and Shock

Symptoms similar to dengue fever plus, any one of the following:

1. Severe and continuous pain in abdomen;
2. Bleeding from the nose, mouth and gums or skin bruising;
3. Frequent vomiting with or without blood;
4. Black stools, like coal tar;
5. Excessive thirst (dry mouth);
6. Pale, cold skin;
7. Restlessness, or sleepiness;

Treatment 

There is no specific medicine for the treatment of the disease. However proper and early treatment can relieve the symptoms and prevent complications and death. Aspirin and Brufen should be avoided in dengue fever, as it is known to increase the bleeding tendency and also it increases the stomach pain. Paracetamol can be given on medical advice. If one or more signs of Dengue Haemorrhagic fever are seen, take the patient to the hospital immediately. Give fluids to drink while transferring the patient to the hospital.

Basic Facts on Dengue

• How dengue spreads?

Dengue is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito Aedes aegypti. The mosquito gets the virus by biting the infected persons. The first symptoms of the disease occur about 5-7 days after an infected bite. There is no way to tell if a mosquito is carrying the dengue virus. Therefore, people must protect themselves from all mosquito bites.

• Where does the mosquito live?

The mosquito rests indoors, in closets and other dark places. Outside, they rest where it is cool and shaded. The female mosquito lays her eggs in water containers in and around homes, schools and other areas in towns or villages. These eggs become adult in about 10 days.

• Where does the mosquito breed?

Dengue mosquitoes breed in stored exposed water collections. Favoured breeding places are: 
Barrels, drums, jars, pots, buckets, flower vases, plant saucers, tanks, discarded bottles, tins, tyres, water cooler, etc. and a lot more places where rain-water collects or is stored.

Prevention of Dengue

All efforts of control should be directed against the mosquitoes. It is important to take control measures to eliminate the mosquitoes and their breeding places. However, the efforts should be intensified before the transmission season (during and after the rainy season) and at the time of the epidemic.

Prevent Mosquito Bites:

Dengue mosquitoes bite during the daytime. Protect yourself from the bite:

1. Wear full sleeve clothes and long dresses to cover the limbs;
2. Repellent - care should be taken in using repellents on small children and the elderly;
3. Use mosquito coils and electric vapour mats during the daytime to prevent Dengue;
4. Use mosquito nets - to protect babies, old people and others, who may rest during the day. The effectiveness of such nets can be improved by treating them with permethrin (pyrethroid insecticide). Curtains (cloth or bamboo) can also be treated with insecticide and hung at windows or doorways, to repel or kill mosquitoes.
5. Protection of people sick with dengue - Mosquitoes become infected when they bite people who are sick with dengue. Mosquito nets and mosquito nets and mosquito coils will effectively prevent mosquitoes from biting sick people and help stop the spread of dengue.

Prevention Multiplication of Mosquitoes:

Mosquitoes which spread dengue live and breed in and around houses.

• Drain water from coolers, tanks, barrels, drums and buckets, etc.;
• There should be no water in coolers when not in use;
• Remove from the house all objects, e.g. plant saucers, etc. which have water collected in them;
• Remove water from refrigerator drip pans every other day;
• All stored water containers should be kept covered all the time;
• Discard solid waste and objects where water collects, e.g. bottles, tins, tyres, etc.

Dengue News

For detailed update on dengue in Gujarat and floods in Mumbai, check out the following links.

1. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi
2. http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/08/12/mumbai.rain.ap/
3. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/
4. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP11849.htm
5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4140756.stm
6. http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=52222
7. http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jul172005/
8. http://www.ahmedabad.com/index/viewarticle/article/17136/section/14
9. http://www.ahmedabad.com/index/viewarticle/article/17130/section/14

Disaster Mitigation Tool Kit

Disaster Mitigation Tool kit:

Kits to Sustain Everyday Life in the event of a disaster: We are giving information for an ideal kit that might be useful to disaster affected people. However preparation for this should be done before hand. The following kits are suggested in places where people might not have ready access to many essential supplies for everyday life as preparation to a disaster: Write to us at dmis@sristi.org

Health Kit

• 1 hand towel
• 1 washcloth
• 1 hair comb, regular size (not pocket)
• 1 nail file or nail clipper
• 1 bath-size bar of soap in wrapper
• 1 toothbrush in sealed package
• 1 large tube of toothpaste 
• 6 adhesive bandages (such as Band-aids)

Wrap the brand new items in the new hand towel, tie it with string or yarn, and place inside a sealed, one-litre plastic bag with a zipper closure.

First Aid Medicine Kit

• Sterile Gauze Pads: ( 4x4) 50 Pads
• Adhesive Tape: 6 Rolls, 1/2" or I" x 10yds. or more
• Triple Antibiotic Topical Ointment: 4 Tubes (I oz tubes) Example: Neosporin Ointment
• Aspirin: 325 mg (5 gr) tablets
1. Ferrous Sulfate Tablets 500 Tablets of 325 mg
2. Children's Multivitamins with Iron Chewable Tablets 500 Tablets
3. Adult Multivitamins with Iron Tablets 500 Tablets
4. Children's Acetaminophen Chewable Tablets 300 Tablets of 80mg.

   *Where possible, purchase tablets in bottles of 100 or more. No samples are permitted. For example, if the required number of tablets is 1,000, then collect:

   • 1 bottle of 1,000 tablets each, or
   • 2 bottles of 500 tablets each, or
     
   • 4 bottles of 300 or 250 tablets each, or
   • 8 bottles of 130 tablets each, or
   • 10 bottles of lOO tablets each
5. Acetaminophen for Adults --pain reliever
6. Antacid --for treatment of upset stomach / heartburn
7. Mebendazole or Thiabendazole --for intestinal worm infection
8. Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim --antibacterial for adults and children
9. Tetmosol Soap --for treatment of scabies for adults and children
10. Oral Rehydration Salts --to combat dehydration for adults and children
11. Promethazine --for treatment of nausea
12. Metronidazole --for treatment of intestinal amebiasis (amebic dysentery)
13. Chlorhexidine --antiseptic for adults and children
14. Tolnaftate 1% Antifungal Cream --for skin infections for adults and children
15. Rolled Bandages --for first aid applications

School Kit

In many countries, there are no books, or even classrooms. Classes are mobile or held in the open air. School kits may be the only educational resources available. Often students must write down everything the teacher says or writes on a board. Their teacher's knowledge and their own notes are their only textbooks. They have difficulty learning without the basic tools in this kit, which is designed for a variety of ages.

• 1 blunt scissors
• 2 pads of 8 ½ " x 11" ruled paper
• 1 30-centimeter ruler
• 1 pencil sharpener
• 6 unsharpened pencils with erasers
• 1 eraser, 2 ½"
• 12 sheets of construction paper
• 1 box of 8 crayons

Prepare a 12"x14" (finished size) cloth bag with handles and a closure (Velcro, snap, or button) and place the items in the bag.

Kit for Kids

Kits with the basic supplies every baby needs. Please be sure that all items are NEW!

• 6 cloth diapers
• 2 shirts
• 2 baby wash cloths
• 2 gowns
• 2 diaper pins
• 1 sweater
• 2 receiving blankets

Bundle the items inside one of the receiving blankets and secure it with diaper pins.

Domestic Kit

The following kits are recommended following a natural disaster. Bedding Pack

• 2 flat double-bed sheets
• 2 pillow cases
• 2 pillows

Other necessities: 

Linen (new only)

• Sheets
• Towels
• Blankets
• Pillows

Sewing Kit

Sewing kits foster interdependence rather than dependence. Women can make clothing in their own size and in the style of their culture. Cottage industries often grow out of the sewing classes where women use these kits to practice valuable income-generating skills.

• 3 yards of cotton or cotton-blend solid-color or print fabric (there must be 3 uncut yards of fabric or the kit is not usable)
• 1 pair of sewing scissors
• 1 package of needles
• 1 spool of thread
• 6 matching buttons

Wrap sewing notions in the fabric and tie it with a string or strip of cloth. Place items in a sealed one-gallon plastic bag with

Cleaning Utilities

These resources enable people to begin the overwhelming job of cleaning up after a flood or hurricane.

• 5 gal. bucket with reseal able lid
• Bleach ½ gal.
• Scouring pads, 5
• Scrub brush
• Cleaning towels , 18 each
• Sponges , assorted size-7 pack
• Laundry detergent , 50 oz.
• Household cleaner, 12 oz.
• Disinfectant dish soap , 28 oz.
• Clothes pins (50)
• Clothesline, 100ft.x3/16
• Dust masks , 5 packs
• Latex gloves , package of 2 pr.
• Work gloves, 1 pr.
• Trash bags , 24 bg. roll
• Insect repellant, 14 oz.
• Air freshener, 9 oz.

Please purchase all liquids in plastic bottles. Be sure to send all new materials that are unopened when they are sealed or in packages. Put all items in the plastic bucket and seal lid.

Individual Items Needed for Disaster Response

Though all of the following items are needed at some time, some are in heavier demand than others.

Baby Items

• Disposable diapers
• Baby wipes

Cleaning Supplies

• Dry laundry detergent
• Dish detergent
• Dry disinfectant
• Mops
• Shovels
• Rubber gloves
• Buckets
• Plastic garbage bags (30 gallon)
• Squeegees
• Pressure water sprayers
• Power scrubbers
• Scoop shovels
Miscellaneous
• Generators
• Tarps
• Tents
• Cots

Paper Products

• Paper plates
• Paper cups
• Paper towels
• Toilet paper

Send all new paper goods that are unopened.

Personal Items

• Soap
• Toothbrushes
• Hand lotion
• Feminine hygiene produces
• Large (adult) diapers
• Insect repellent
• Surgical masks and gloves
• Sun block (rated 15 or higher)

Source: Various websites & www.fema.gov

Disaster Planning & Management

Suggestive Strategies, Recommendations and Action Plan for Disaster Mitigation, Prevention and Preparedness:


Government of India Expert Group

( Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Natural Disaster Management http://ndmindia.nic.in )

Government of India has taken several initiatives for strengthening disaster reduction strategies. Government of India constituted an Expert Group to examine the related issues and evolve recommendations for improving preparedness and prevention with respect to natural disasters caused by earthquakes, floods and cyclones. (The current national policy http://ndmindia.nic.in/manageplan/nationalpoli.html )

Issues addressed

The Expert Group appointed by the Govt. of India examined the current status of work being carried out in these areas:

Monitoring of Hazards Vulnerability Assessment Prediction and Forecasting Retrofitting of Existing Unsafe Structures and Buildings

Hazard Mapping Disaster Risk Assessment and Mapping Preparation of Building Guidelines Assessing Gaps in the Above. Filling them as much as possible

The Report has covered the following issues:

• Identification of various hazard prone areas.
• Vulnerability and Risk Assessment ofBuildings
• Disaster damage scenarios,
• Technical Guidelines for Hazard ResistantConstruction of Buildings.
• Upgrading of Hazard Resistance of Existing Housing Stock by Retrofitting, and
• Techno-Legal Regime to be adopted

Based on the findings as above, the Group has recommended strategies to be adopted and Action Plan for consideration of the Government. The Group feels strongly that these need to be urgently considered for evolving a national policy keeping in view of the Govt. of India's commitment to the Yokohama Strategy for Natural Disaster Reduction. Groups recommendations and proposed Action Plan are presented in Chapters 10, 11, and 12. The major issues are highlighted hereunder:

1. The first and the foremost is to restructure the National Policy on disaster management reflecting the holistic approach involving prevention, mitigation and preparedness in pre-disaster phase with appropriate additional funding, along with the so far existent policy of the post-disaster relief and rehabilitation under crisis management.

2. Creation of awareness for disaster reduction is urgently needed amongst policy makers, decision makers, administrators, professionals (architects, engineers and others at various levels) financial institutions (banks, insurance, house financing institutions) and NGOs and voluntary organizations.

3. Creating awareness for improving preparedness amongst the communities, using media, school education, and the network of the building centre.

4. Appropriate amendments in the legislative and regulatory instruments (state laws, master plans, development area plan rules, building regulations and bye-laws of local bodies) along with strengthening of the enforcement mechanisms at different levels.

5. Capacity building at local and regional levels for undertaking rapid-assessment surveys and investigations of the nature and extent of damage in post disaster situations.

6. Conducting micro-zonation surveys of large urban areas falling in the disaster prone regions and preparing appropriate preparedness and mitigation plans on an urgent basis.

7. To ensure use of disaster resistant construction techniques in all housing and other buildings to be undertaken under the Central and State schemes.

8. Making mandatory, the use of disaster resistant codes and guidelines related to disaster resistant construction in the houses and buildings in all sectors of the society by law and through incentives and disincentives.

9. To create a suitable institutional mechanism at national/state level to advise and help the existing disaster relief set up in formulation and updating of short and long range action plans for the preparedness, mitigation and prevention of natural disasters. (the mechanisms suggested are establishment of a National Scientific and Technical Committee at Central level and Natural Disaster Mitigation Centres at State levels).

10. To promote the study of natural disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness as subjects in architecture and engineering curricula.

11. To create detailed database on hazard occurrences, damage caused to buildings and infrastructure and the economic losses suffered and ensure its accessibility to interested researchers for effective analysis of costs of disasters and benefits of mitigative actions.

12. To devise appropriate policy instrument and funding support for urgent disaster preparedness and prevention actions in high risk areas including upgrading the resistance of existing housing and related structures and systems.

13. To include R&D work in disaster preparedness, mitigation and prevention as a thrust area so that adequate funds are earmarked for the schemes of R&D organizations as well as the concerned Central Ministries and State Governments.

Source: http://www.bmtpc.org

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The content has been sourced from the internet, various websites, databases, individual contributions, contributions from organizations, magazines and newspapers. We have written to the websites about the display of their content on our site. In most cases we have received their consent. In all cases where we have not received any communication, we have mentioned the source and are trying to keep in touch with the site.

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please write to us at dmis@sristi.org

Donate Blood

Any body needing blood in emergency or wanting to donate may contact

http://www.indianblooddonors.com/

Sristi is the partner with Indian Blood Donors in Disaster Victims

Earthquake Relief & Rehabilitation Efforts in Kutch

January 26th 2001 Gujarat will forever remember this day of natures ire. On this day the earth heaved andleft in its wake grieving families, fallen buildings and broken dreams. Towns & villages which a day before were full of life had been reduced to pile of rubble. One of the worst affected areas was Kutch where towns of Anjar and Bachao were completely wiped out. In Bhuj 90% of buildings were affected and almost all the villages in the regions were reduced to a pile of stones, rocks and rubble.

Thousands died Govt. put the estimates at 22,000 but independent sources claim that the toll is about 100,000. With whole families having vanished there is nobody to tell who is missing. Now people in these towns are realizing that they are missing some of the people that they used to see in there neighbourhood before the quake.

Thousands of crore of property was destroyed in a few cataclysmic minutes (approximately 23,000 crores about US $ 500,00,00,000)

 

 

Earthquake affected area in Gujarat

Earthquake of 7.9 magnitude on Richter scale affected much of Gujarat and showed much of its ire in Kutch, little did people realize how they are going to rebuild all that they have built through hundreds of years. Gujarat came out of this catastrophe due to Herculean efforts of citizens groups, NGO's and self motivated volunteers who poured in supplies and man power at the time of need.

International relief agencies, donor agencies, groups, individuals and countries came out with support for the affected people of Gujarat. The support received from Kutchi NRI community is worth to mention at this juncture.

SRISTI extended its support to the earthquake affected areas. To know more about Sristi's earthquake initiatives. Click Here...

Sristis Initiative

SRISTI's Initiatives for Earthquake Relief & Rehabilitation efforts in Gujarat

SRISTI has been actively involved in relief and rehabilitation work in earthquake affected areas of Gujarat particularly Kutch. Included is an insight into SRISTI's activities along with IIMA (IIMACORE) and GIAN.

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SRISTI & IIMACORE team Visit to Kutch:

Prof. Anil K Gupta along with other NGO's & members of IIMACORE working in the relief work took a trip to the affected areas and visited Bhuj, Rapar & Bachao. Prof. Gupta shared his first hand observation of the situation and visualized the rehabilitation plan for the affected area at a lecture in Ahmedabad Management Association.

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SRISTI Relief Team:

SRISTI's was amongst the first team to reach Kutch. This advance team took up the initiative to setup camp and help build up the relief center in Nilpar village of Rapar Taluka. The center for relief activity was developed at "Gram Swaraj Sangh" a Gandhian Institute. From this center the team provided medical treatment & distributed relief material to the affected people in Rapar Taluka. The team also started an effort to collect data for damage assessment in the area and tried to establish co-ordination between various NGO's and medical teams that arrived at this center.

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SRISTI Relief Team: First team replace by second team

A second team of SRISTI replaced the first team and established its camp in Nilpar. This team took over the Shodhyatra route (Shodhyatra-II) and tried to asses the damage in the villages in which people had been part of the Honey Bee Network. After this assessment some of the relief material being collected with the support of IIMACORE community was also diverted there.

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Resource Mobilization:

SRISTI mobilized several teams of doctors from, Bangalore, St. Stephens New Delhi etc, HAM radio operators, volunteers, structural engineers, seismologists, experts from CSIR Institutes. SRISTI staff was involved in direct relief work as well as provided support both material, resources, computers etc to IIMACORE control center.

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Disaster Management Information System:

SRISTI have taken up the initiatives in compiling a database and expert system for disaster management. Through this efforts SRISTI is trying to network initiatives, experiences of individual and institutions worldwide to create a database of do's and don'ts at the time of a disaster (Emergency Preparedness). At the same time a effort is being made to develop an online database of resources and volunteers, who can volunteer online. To be contacted during the time of disasters by respective Disaster Management Authorities of states as well as NGO's and other organizations working in relief & rehabilitation.

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Sikshan Sodh Evam Shram Arpan Yatra:

SRISTI 's Shodhyatra (Shodhyatra VII) with a difference, was a step in trying to rebuild the education process, in earthquake affected areas covering 14 villages of Rapar Taluka.

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Networking Innovative Teachers for Educational Rehabilitation:

SRISTI & IIMACORE has initiated a project with the school children in the earthquake affected areas. The problem of parents migrating in search of employment and at the same time taking the children with them led to large no. of such school children no access to education, in the aftermath of earthquake the drain was much more. SRISTI took up the task of limiting migration of school going children's, with the aim to stop all such migration. One of the reason for such migration was lack of interest and innovative methods in the Primary school teachers. Hence lesser interest in students to actually come to school at all. SRISTI realized this problem and through its Shodhyatra "Sikshan Sodh Evam Shram Arpan Yatra" tried to impress on the parents to send there children's to school. Some President awards winners school teacher from across Gujarat volunteered to take the initiative in introducing interesting / innovative methods of teaching in students. One such teacher is Mr. Raman Lal Soni, who through his different approach of learning engaged students and actually created an interest in coming to School. SRISTI helped in rebuilding of the schools and provided "Gyan Kosh" besides other school material to the students. More about the project go to School Project. Click Here...

SRISTI's Initiatives for Relief in Kutch

SRISTI's Initiatives for Relief in Kutch

SRISTI participated in relief operations immediately after the earthquake affected most of Gujarat and particularly Kutch. SRISTI immediately rushed a relief team to Kutch and mobilized support, financial as well as material for quake affected people.

SRISTI & IIMACORE team Visit to Kutch:

Prof. Anil K Gupta along with other NGO's & members of IIMACORE working in the relief work took a trip to the affected areas and visited Bhuj, Rapar & Bachao. Prof. Gupta shared his first hand observation of the situation and visualized the rehabilitation plan for the affected area at a lecture in Ahmedabad Management Association.

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SRISTI Relief Team:

SRISTI's was amongst the first team to reach Kutch. This advance team took up the initiative to setup camp and help build up the relief center in Nilpar village of Rapar Taluka. The center for relief activity was developed at "Gram Swaraj Sangh" a Gandhian Institute. From this center the team provided medical treatment & distributed relief material to the affected people in Rapar Taluka. The team also started an effort to collect data for damage assessment in the area and tried to establish co-ordination between various NGO's and medical teams that arrived at this center.

Coordination in Rapar from Nilpar:

Through the efforts of Mr. Kapil Shah & Mr. Ramesh Sangavi Director, of Gandhian Institute "Gram Swarajaya Sangh" proper co-ordination have been worked out with various NGO’s, which have made the Institute as the base for relief work in Rapar taluka. The team coordinated with the institute and other NGO’s in providing relief supplies and provided medical, food grain, shelter, blanket support to 10 villages in the area. Another more crucial thing that we initiated in the area was coordination with all NGO’s to do a damage assessment exercise in the area so as to know how much supplies are needed in the area. A questionnaire was designed and circulated through all the NGO teams to collect data relating to the basic facility, medical requirement (post operative care), food and shelter requirement, human mortality, cattle mortality property damage, fodder requirement etc. This information is crucial for three things:

• Compensation to the victims for – human deaths cattle death, property damage.
• Basic requirements of the area and long term planning for reconstruction efforts.
• To negotiate with the govt. to provide the required need to the affected people.

The team visited ten villages and surveyed as per the format as mentioned above to do a damage assessment in the area and prepared assessment report.

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SRISTI Relief Team: First team replace by second team

A second team of SRISTI replaced the first team and established its camp in Nilpar. This team took over the Shodhyatra route (Shodhyatra-II) and tried to asses the damage in the villages in which people had been part of the Honey Bee Network. After this assessment some of the relief material being collected with the support of IIMACORE community was also diverted there.

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Resource Mobilization:

SRISTI mobilized several teams of doctors from, Bangalore, St. Stephens New Delhi etc, HAM radio operators, volunteers, structural engineers, seismologists, experts from CSIR Institutes. SRISTI staff was involved in direct relief work as well as provided support both material, resources, computers etc to IIMACORE control center.

SRISTI's Rehabilitation Initiatives in Kutch

SRISTI's Rehabilitation Initiatives in Kutch:

SRISTI rehabilitation initiatives involve, rehabilitation of school children who otherwise would have migrated from the region, as there school were not functional and there was no evidence of them opening soon.

Networking Innovative Teachers for Educational Rehabilitation: SRISTI’s & IIMACORE's initiative for rebuilding Kutch

SRISTI took the challenge to initiate a project with the school children in the earthquake affected areas. The problem of parents migrating in search of employment and at the same time taking the children with them led to large no. of such school children no access to education. As the school were not functional most of them damaged or completely collapsed, the drain was much more. SRISTI took up the task of limiting migration of school going children's, with the aim to stop all such migration. One of the reason for such migration was lack of interest and innovative methods in the Primary school teachers. Hence lesser interest in students to actually come to school at all. SRISTI realized this problem and through its Shodhyatra "Sikshan Sodh Evam Shram Arpan Yatra" tried to impress on the parents to send there children's to school.

Some President awards winners school teacher from across Gujarat volunteered to take the initiative in introducing interesting / innovative methods of teaching in students. One such teacher is Mr. Raman Lal Soni, who through his different approach of learning engaged students and actually created an interest in coming to School. SRISTI helped in rebuilding of the schools and provided "Gyan Kosh" besides other school material to the students. To know more about the project go to "School Project.

Disaster Management Information System:

SRISTI have taken up the initiatives for compiling a database and develop a expert system for disaster management. Through this efforts SRISTI is trying to network initiatives, experiences of individual and institutions worldwide to create a database of do's and don'ts at the time of a disaster ( Emergency Preparedness ). At the same time a effort is being made to develop an online database of resources and volunteers, who can volunteer online. To be contacted during the time of disasters by respective Disaster Management Authorities of states as well as NGO's and other organizations working in relief & rehabilitation.

Sikshan Sodh Evam Shram Arpan Yatra:

SRISTI 's  Shodhyatra VII, ( Sikshan Sodh Evam Shram Arpan Yatra ), was with a difference. It was a step in trying to rebuild the education process, in earthquake affected areas covering 14 villages of Rapar Taluka in Kutch.

looking for hope in broken background

A disrupted education process

Students admitted during shodhyatra in a Village School constructed by SRISTI

The journey in Kutch and activities done:

1. Village:- Dabhuda: Fourteen volumes of Gujarati Encyclopedia (Vishwakosh) and other useful books were donated and library was established in the village. During a plantation programme hundred plants were planted around MOMAI temple with the co-operation of villagers.
2. Village:- Sai: Many books useful for children and villagers were donated to establish a library along with 14 volumes of Vishwakosh. In a plantation programme 100 plants were planted in the village.
3. Village:- Pichhana (Badalpur): Two rooms were constructed for primary school. A library has been established by donating 14 volumes of Vishwakosh as well as other useful books. Plantation was done around the newly established primary school. A well was recharged at the farm of Mr. Narayanbhai Devjibhai during the 'Shramdan' programme. A recipe contest was organized in which 22 women participated and prepared 14 different delicious recipes.
4. Village : Naliya Timba: Two rooms for primary school were constructed. A library was established by donating 14 volumes of Vishwakosh and some other useful books. Plantation programme was done. Fifty new students were admitted in the primary school.
5. Village:- Mevasa: Two rooms were constructed for primary school. Fourteen volumes of Vishwakosh and useful books for children and youth were donated to establish a library in village. Plant bio-diversity contest was held in the primary school. Plantation was done around the primary school.
6. Village:- Thoriyali: Fourteen volumes of vishwakosh and useful books for children and youth were donated to establish a library in village. Thirtyeight new students were admitted in the primary school.
7. Village:- Kumbhariya: Fourteen volumes of vishwakosh and useful books for children and youth were donated to establish a library in village. A trough was constructed in village for animals. Hundred plants were planted during 'shramdaan' programme. Plant bio-diversity contest was held in the primary school.
8. Village:- Khanpar: Two rooms were constructed for primary school. A library was established by donating 14 volumes of Vishwakosh and some other useful books.
9. Village:- Gajuwadh: A room was constructed for primary school. Useful books for children and youth were donated in village.
10. Village:- Jethasari: A room was constructed for primary school. Useful books for children and youth were donated in village.
11. Village:- Gongawadh: A room was constructed for primary school. Useful books for children and youth were donated in village. A 'Chabutara' (raised platform constructed for feeding birds) was constructed in the village. Plantation was carried out.
12. Village:- Govindpur: A library was established by donating 14 volumes of Vishwakosh and some other useful books.
13. Village:- Badargadh: A library was established in primary school by donating 14 volumes of Vishwakosh and some other useful books. Plant bio-diversity contest was held in the primary school.
14. Village:- Sarasala: Two rooms were constructed for primary school. Useful books for children and youth were donated in village.

Let's play and learn.....	Edutainment-Ramanlal Soni a innovative teacher in action	A ray of hope
Can I say something ?	We want to learn	Smile please!!!!!!

During the Shodhyatra:

Educational toys, pencil, rubber, table books and other useful books were distributed in all the primary schools. Total 8 primary schools were constructed in 8 different villages. Libraries were established in 10 villages, while in 10 villages plantation was carried out  In 14 villages educational toys were distributed. A remarkable contribution was made by Mr. Ramanlal Soni (Village: Tintoi, Tal. : Modasa, Dist. :Sabarkantha), a retired school teacher, for  education awareness through his poems, stories and songs. Meetings and discussions were held with the villagers to develop interest in children towards education. The  knowledge of local people regarding agriculture, veterinary, development of farm implements and other rural skills was compiled and awarded.

Future plans:

To form a committee of some renowned teachers who are interested in child education programme which will start 'Education Awareness Movement ' by providing regular visit in different villages of Rapar taluka. All the necessary help and co-operation will be provided by SRISTI. To establish libraries in many of the villages and provide more books for all age groups and other basic facilities to the libraries established in this Shodhyatra. To compile, advertise, analyse and improve the traditional knowledge of the villagers.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES DURING SHODHYATRA

Village: Naliya Timba-2, Taluka :Rapar, Dist. Kutch

Primary school	Count
Earlier strength of students	50
New admissions during Shodhyatra	50
Total	100
Teachers	1

One more teacher is required.

Village : Sarsala, Taluka: Rapar, Dist. Kutch

Primary school	Count
Earlier strength of students	70

Teachers do not come to the school to teach the students. A 4th standard pass farmer Shri. Mavjibhai Koli teaches the children of the village but he do not get any wages for his work.

Village : Khanpar, Taluka : Rapar, Dist. :Kutch

Primary school	Count
Earlier strength of students	85
New admissions	48
Total Students	133
Teachers	1

One more teacher is required. The villagers live nomadic life, so whenever they go for labour work to the other village they move along with their family. Therefore, there is a necessity of mobile school or a hostel in the village.

Village : Jethasari, Taluka : Rapar, Dist. :Kutch

Primary school	Count
Earlier strength of students	38
New admissions	46
Total Students	84
Teachers	1

School Children Project

Networking Innovative Teachers for Educational Rehabilitation: 
SRISTI’s & IIMACORE's initiative for rebuilding Kutch

Relief  - Centre: An immidiate response to Earthquake:

SRISTI and IIMA-CORE initiated relief work on the very next day of the earthquake. The very next day collection center at IIMA started functioning and goods have been deployed at interior villages. For effective distribution, need-assessment survey undertaken with the help of IIMA faculty, students and SRISTI volunteers.

Destroyed School & hopes	Construction of a school	A class in progress
Play & Learn, Mr. Ramanlal Soni's, unique method to develop interest amongst students	A Calls under a makeshift Camp	Volunteer Teachers conducting classes

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A journey of exploration with a difference in Kutch:

The seventh Shodhyatra (Sikshan Sodh Evam Shram Arpan Yatra) was devoted to a special cause and planned to serve the purpose of educational rehabilitation in most-affected sixteen villages of Rapar taluka of Kutch. While most of the agencies and government efforts geared more towards distribution of goods and civil works, education rehabilitation has been considered is an area, which had been neglected. For detail report on seventh Shodhyatra please see, Honeybee vol 12 No 3 July-September, 2001 edition .

Students & Teachers

Another class meeting

A Camp Class

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The major lessons learned during the seventh:

1. Building of semi-pucca schools in ten villages of Rapar Taluka.
2. Small school and village libraries have been set up in ten villages. Several books (twenty-thousand pages per school), teaching-learning materials along with Gujarat encyclopedia (Vishwakosh) were donated to the Schools.
3. To recognize and reward the children’s curiosity and knowledge about local plant-diversity, biodiversity contests have been organized in three villages. Children and villagers had not only participated enthusiastically but also exhibited rich knowledge about plant diversity along with its medicinal values.
4. Women’s culinary creativity has also been documented through recipe contest in Pichana village. More than 25 women participated. For details please see, Shodhyatra report 7.
5. Villagers and parents have been persuaded to recognize and make use of local experts available in their own village or near by. In most of the schools, teachers have agreed that they would spare at least one hour a week (either before school time or on week-end or on holiday) to the local expert or most-knowledgeable elder in a community.
6. Community tree-plantations have been carried out in ten villages either in the school-compound or village commons. State forest department has provided the seedlings.
7. Recharging of well was done through combined labour in pichana village.
8. Water-tank for cattle has been constructed in Kumbaria village.
9. The most extra-ordinary thing happened in three villages, where.
10. Shodhyatris have decided not to proceed to their further journey until all parents of school-going age children enroll their children. In Naliya Timba, Shodhyatris decided that unless all children enroll before night, they would not have their dinner. It worked and not only never-enrolled but also dropped-out children were enrolled in the presence of village Sarpanch, head teacher and Talati. Villages like Khanpar, have problem of migrant labour families who migrate out of village for more than six months and carry their children to workplace. Meetings with such parents were held and alternative models like community-schools, flexi-timing etc. have been discussed and decided to follow-up separately with state education department. Letters have been written to education minister, secretary and director or primary education. In 10 villages, SRISTI has facilitated recruitment of un-employed rural youth to work as a schoolteacher through community consent.
11. An outstanding teacher, and winners of several honors and awards (State and National best teacher award and recipient of CASTME (Commonwealth Association of Science Teachers and Math Educators) award Shri Ramanbhai Soni of Sabarkantha organized joyful learning in an informal settings in the village and demonstrated how children are best taught outside classroom walls. His creative ways of inspiring and attracting children and teaching maths and science through songs not only attracted children but also village elders.

What next: Action plan for Educational rehabilitation of Rapar

It has been realized that educational rehabilitation in some of the poorest and remote earthquake affected areas, where not much has been done, should be top on the agenda for any planned intervention. The experience of shodhyatra has been very useful in identifying blocks and areas for next phase. SRISTI has already have networked outstanding primary school teachers from Gujarat and other states and some them have achieved outstanding results, in ‘difficult’ situations and ‘difficult’ areas in-spite of well-known hurdles of primary education. Ramanbhai Soni, Motibhai Nayak and Some of the other teachers took up the challenge and not only involved them selves voluntarily but also helped identify similar teachers to commit their time and efforts in this noble cause.

Ramanbhai Soni has identified certain key areas for strategic interventions based on the block-specific issues of Rapar. Faculty members of Ravi J Matthai Center for Educational Innovation, IIM, Ahmedabad, State Government officials from GCERT, Gandhinagar and Sukhdev Patel of Ahmedabad-based NGO Ganatar (well known for its successful experiments of alternative schooling) were people among others, who had deliberated on the issues on 17th July 2001 (Please see, minutes of the meeting) at IIM, Ahmedabad.

The major action points that have been emerged are:

1. Need to idenyify more innovative and creative teachers who wish to initiate and sustain education rehabilitation in Rapar taluka on sustained basis. Both in-servive and retired teachers with skills and will could be located and involved. Ravi J Matthai center would provide list of such teachers.
2. One state level coordination group of such teachers would be formed under the leadership of Shri Ramanbhai Soni. However based upon the problems identified in Rapar block, six to seven groups can be formed. Ramanbhai Soni will prepare a rough outline of the project in consultation with SRISTI , GCERT and RJMCEI.
3. There is a need to collect baseline data of Rapar taluka. To build the educational database, GCERT (Gujarat Council of Education Research and Training, Gandhinagar) will help in gathering data through relevant government agencies and NGOs.
4. In view of school to reopen in next month, the immediate focus should be on enrolment drive. Villages where demand have been evident during Shodhyatra and where data and secondary sources show the need, enrolment awareness campaign through innovative primary school teachers may be launched. Local teachers, community leaders and children should also be encouraged to participate.
5. GCERT will help the group in training of resource persons throughout the project.
6. The duration of this project is from August 2001 to April 2002.

Discussing the outline:

Ramanbhai Soni has proposed the outline of project, which was discussed on 3rd August 2001. Apart from coordination and other issues, it was though to divide the project site (200 schools of Rapar) in different school zones. Different activity-mix for each zone have been discussed. The broad classification of zone and activities have been shown in the following table:

Number of schools	Criteria of scool-zone classification	Project activities
45 - 50	Educationally-most deprived and disadvantaged areas and communities, poor demand and difficult access	Setting up basic infrastructure, Rigorous Mobilization campaign
50 - 55	Villages or schools on main accessible roads, some awareness towards education, school with some facilities but dysfunctional schools.	Community mobilization with focus on improving quality, Ensuring greater participation of village leaders, improving school infrastructure.
45 - 50	Schools little functional, awareness towards education exhibited.	Seeting up liberalities and conducting teacher and CRC(Cluster Resource Centre Coordinators) training , Regular follow-up and feedback , Strengthening school-community links.
40 - 45	Educationally-better but badly earth-quake affected villages.	Improving school and village infrastructure, Capacity-building of teachers and community-leaders.

This broad classification will cover almost all school of Rapar. Any school that is left out under this classification can be separately handled based on the response and interest of community. 

Did it work:  Meeting of volunteer teachers on 29th August, 2001

The coordination committee members who had visited the district and launched activities met to share their experiences and for future plan. The project has helped in mobilization and ensured entry of school-going age children also motivated community to re-enrol their kids in to school so that thy do not miss out the current year. The most four important issues have emerged as part of the discussion is:

1. School and parents visits should be intensified in the identified villages from 10.9.2001 to 17.9.2001.
2. Focus on children of migrating parents on the border villages of Rapar taluka.
3. Status on drop-out school children in sample villages and holding community-level meetings to discuss strategies to reenroll out-of-school children.
4. Activity-oriented learning activities to be speeded up in sample villages in consultation with CRC coordinators and teachers. Activities, which encourage children creativity and learning, should be initiated to start with. Some of the teachers from the Rapar taluka have already been networked from the district. Teachers from other districts of the state will also be involved, wherever necessary.

Strengthening capacities of CRC coordinators: Gaining the momentum:

As a part of making education creative and interesting activity, one day training and orientation workshop organized on 10th September 2001 at Smt Sushiladevi Sanghvi Balmandir. 39-40 Coordinators of Rapar taluka were present in the workshop. Some of the teachers like Ramanbhai Soni, Mukundbhai Vyas, Narendrabhai Pandya, Jyantibhai Raval, who have made significant contributions to make education interesting and joyful had shared their experiences. Comprehensive training package for cluster schools have been outlined at the end of day through mutual discussions with CRCs, head teachers of cluster schools and innovative teachers and members of coordination committee.

The training needs that have been identified for future training at CRC level were:

1. Improving teachers’ competence for creative and joyful learning.
2. Improving school-community links through cultural programmes.
3. Special Methods of teaching which can be used in such conditions.
4. Alternative mode of education to streamline the gap for recent drop-outs.

CRC level training was organized from 11.0.2001 to 27.9.2001 with the help of DIET, Bhuj and GCERT. At least one teacher from every school was trained during this training.

School visit programme Reaching to 'Un-reached'

The school visit programme was organized during 16th to 20th October 2001. Most school visited was located in the remote and interior villages of Rapar block.

1. Re-enrollment of out-of-school children from village or surrounding villages.
2. Alternative schooling for children of migrating communities.

This programme has been guided by five innovative school teachers of Gujarat and coordinated by Chandrakant Soni and Babubhai Soni of Kutch. Intensive field visits were organized during the programme. SRISTI volunteers also joined in the villages and spread the message of role that local innovations and creativity could play in generating solutions in such calamities as well. 

Fifteen remote of Rapar villages have been covered during the programme:

1. Sarasla
2. Khanpar
3. Shamgad
4. Manabavand
5. Nandavand
6. Dadadro
7. Pagivaan
8. Mittaparvand
9. Azadnagar
10. Prathapghad
11. Anandavand
12. Manjuvas
13. Bhuttakiya
14. Jesada
15. Pethpar

SRISTI Bal Gram Shala: From activities to model:

The major learning and outcome of different activities have been compiled and visualized in the form of ‘SRISTI BAL Gram Shala’ meand SRISTI children Village School. The core components of this initiative are:

1. Creation of community-hostels and convincing elder stationery parents of villages for the out-of-school children of migrating parents.
2. Where ever community demads is evident, student teacher ration is very high and teachers are in shortfall, un-employed but educated village youth from the same village will be identified and appointed as a teacher. Project will meet expenses like honorarium to teacher etc. 
3. Setting up and operationalising mobile library where teacher and community and especially children have shown interest.
4. Providing play equipments, where good space near school is there.
5. Providing simple. Low-cost and locally relevant educational aids to teach simple concepts in Math and science. SRISTI’s informal network of such creative and innovative teachers of Gujarat and other states may be drawn upon. 
6. Sensitivity towards local knowledge and creativity should be encouraged among children. During Shodhyatra local knowledge of children about local plan diversity have been explored and this process is very encouraging and rewarding in both attracting out-of-school children (who are rich in other spheres of knowledge) and retaining ‘potential drop-outs’ (whose knowledge have been ‘disrgarded’ by formal schooling). This process should be part of curriculm through organization of biodiversity competitions and games like ‘Kaun Banga Gyanpati’ etc. 
7. Co-curricula activities like health-camps, sanitation campaigns, Village-cleanliness, tree-plantation should be organized, where ever possible and required.
8. Dissemination of folk-songs, folk-tales and folk-art and culture in project schools. 
9. Special efforts to improve girls performance and participation in schools coupled with female-literacy campaigns. 
10. Education excursions, children and science fairs, school-panchayats, dyras, have been organized and need to be part of routine school activities. 
11. Improving physical infrastructure, where nothing has been done yet after earthquake.
    • Pichhana
    • Naliatimba 2
    • Mewasa
    • Gajjuvandha
    • Jettasari
    • Gogavandha
    • Sarasla
    • Khanpar
    • Nandavand 
12. Monthly newsletter to update and exchange information in project villages.
13. Project can fund subscriptions of some of the popular newsletters in Gujarati such as Shabda-gagan etc. (as decided by coordination committee in consultation with local teachers).

This model has been experimented since 25th October 2001 in six interior villages of Raparsix interior villages of Rapar

A Volunteers view point on SRISTI-IIMACORE School Project: Neil Mascarenhas

The project undertaken involved the documentation of the work done by SRISTI in education and towards setting up of supplementary schools and ashrams in selected villages of Rapar taluka, Kutch area. It is part of the ongoing rehabilitation effort SRISTI is providing to the affected villages and peoples. Read more... 

Guidelines for taking adoption of Indian Children: Govt. Norms

Whether Government would take the custody-care of the destitute children, those who are affected and become orphaned due to the natural-disaster earthquake ?

Yes, Government would take the care and custody of these orphaned Children, through the almost 42 Government and Voluntary organizations like Observations homes Vikas Grihas, Nari Griha, Anath-Kutirs, are Working in the State. Almost in Each District there is at least one organizations providing the services. Got for more details to http://www.gujaratindia.com/guidline.html

Partnering Institutions

SRISTI's partner organizations for Earthquake Relief & Rehabilitation efforts in Gujarat:

SRISTI worked with Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMACORE) for providing relief to earthquake affected people of Gujarat particularly Kutch.

Indian Institute of Management (IIMACORE): (IIMA Community Earthquake Reconstruction Effort (IIMACORE)

It has been about a month since relief efforts were initiated in the aftermath of the earthquake which hit Gujarat on January 26, 2001. IIMACORE has played its own role in these efforts. Members of the IIMA community—faculty, staff and students—had involved themselves in direct relief, coordinating supplies to the affected areas through NGO networks, and providing support wherever needed. Since the relief phase has passed, IIMACORE proposes to phase out its relief initiative effective from March 1, 2001. Go to http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/~iimacorealso Click here

Gujarat Grassroots Innovations Augmentation Network (GIAN):

GIAN aims at sustaining the spirit of innovation, encouraging experimentation and nurturing creativity at grassroots of knowledge rich economically poor people by converting their innovations into products. It makes a significant contribution in creating a knowledge network that can empower the innovators, recognize and augment contemporary innovations, and facilitate the diffusion of green grassroots innovations through commercial and non commercial public private and voluntary channels Go to http://www.gian.org/proposal.htm

National Innovation Foundation (NIF):

The Department of Science and Technology help establish the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) of India, on March 1 2000, with the main goal of providing institutional support in scouting, spawning, sustaining and scaling up grassroots green innovations and helping their transition to self supporting activities.Go to http://www.nifindia.org

Sustainable-Agriculture and Environmental Voluntary Action (SEVA):

SEVA founded in 1992 is Registered (Reg.No.136/92) under Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act of 1975).The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India has recognised the Society (Reg.No.075940295) for receiving funds from sources abroad under the provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 1976. The need for enhancing peoples capacity to cope with drought, barren land, degraded soil and growing scarcity of ground water in many villages of Tamil Nadu has encouraged us to explore alternate ways and means of sustainable livelihoods.Go to http://www.sristi.org/seva.html

List of Donors

SRISTI's Gujarat Earthquake Relief Fund: List of Donors

SRISTI got support for its efforts from a large no. of well wishers as also unknown people who came to know about its rehabilitation work in earthquake affected areas of Kutch. We are providing a list of all the donors who contributed in our "Gujarat Earthquake Relief (& Rehabilitation) Fund". Also provided is a summary of expenses incurred so far.

List Of Donors
Sl. no	Date	List of Donators	Rupees	Foreign Currency
1.	5.2.2001	Mr. Laxman Prasad & Friends	55,000	-
2.	5.2.2001	Ms. Daya Gupta	1,100	-
3.	5.2.2001	Mr. Rakesh Gupta	1,100	-
4.	5.2.2001	Dr. G. P. Gupta	1,100	-
5.	5.2.2001	Mr. Arun Gupta	1,100	-
6.	7.2.2001	Mr. Arvind Mishra	5000	-
7.	9.2.2001	Prof. Raghavachari	10,000	-
8.	9.2.2001	Alok Charitable Trust	2,500	-
9.	11.2.2001	31 Donors From South IND	84,751	-
10.	13.2.2001	Sayona Disaster Mgt Group	45,000	-
11.	13.2.2001	Mr. Anupam	5000	-
12.	15.2.2001	Name not given	10,000	-
13.	16.2.2001	Ms. Jyoti Yadav	15,000	-
14.	23.2.2001	SEVA (Mr. P. Vivekanandan)	15,000	-
15.	24.2.2001	Industrial Metal Finishers	1,100	-
16.	05.3.2001	Ms. Ganga Srinivas	3,000	-
17.	12.3.2001	Mr. Chandu Nair (C/o:Scope Mktg)	17,600	-
18.	14.3.2001	Mr. K. Narender (C/o: DHAN trust)	60,000	-
19.	17.3.2001	Mr. Vipachi Bindu Satyanarayan	500	-
20.	23.3.2001	Dayal Fertilizers (p) Ltd	25,000	-
21.	28.3.2001	Mr. Bob Orskov	17,699	270 (Pounds)
22.	7.2.2001	Mr. Umesh Thakkar	2,319	$ 50
23.	7.2.2001	Mr. Navdeep Mathur	8,815	$ 190
24.	9.2.2001	Osaka Japan	22,692	$ 490
25.	10.2.2001	Ms. Swarnalatha Swaminathan	7,299	1505 (sec)
26.	13.2.2001	Mr. Ram Sunder	14004	$ 300
27.	15.2.2001	STACI (HK) LTD	22,782	$ 500
28.	19.2.2001	Mr. H Houck, Mr. John B Houck, INA	4,653	$ 100
29.	19.2.2001	Mr. Shankar S Raman	1,65,711	-
30.	22.2.2001	Mr. Barbara	9,725	150 (Pounds)
31.	26.2.2001	Mr. SumaSivan	10,321	$ 222
32.	26.2.2001	Mr. Hans Rai Nahata	1,441	$ 31
33.	28.2.2001	Mr. Wendy Dobson	27,846	$ 600
34.	28.2.2001	Mr. Nilesh Agarwal	1,06,640	4000 (sgd)
35.	28.2.2001	Mr. S. P. Desai	1,66,435	$ 3582.32
36.	05.3.2001	Dr. M. S. Islam	10,558	300 (DM)
37.	05.3.2001	Dr. Bahlmann	Not yet transferred	200 (DM)
38.	07.3.2001	Mr. Mathew Tombers	9,282	$ 200
39.	15.3.2001	Mr. Jeffery S. Logan	54,276	$ 1170
40.	28.3.2001	Mr. Vishnu Reddy	14001	$ 300
41.	28.3.2001	Ms. Shalini Elassery	7001	$ 150
42.	29.3.2001	Mr. Rhein Apotheke	6052	300 (DM)
43.	16.4.2001	Ms. Harpreet Kwatra	21171.71	-
44.	16.4.2001	Mr. Takashi Hayabi	2321	-
45.	16.4.2001	Mr. Suresh Ankolekai	8544	-
46.	20.4.2001	Indian Assosiation Luxemberg	28350	-
47.	7.4.2001	Indian Assosiation Luxemberg	2,02,500	-
48.	20.4.2001	WHU Community	143829	$ 3081.18
49.	20.4.2001	Mrs. Orskov	12840	200 (Pounds)
50.	16.4.2001	MS. HARPREET KWATRA	11350	21,171.71
51.	5.7.2001	Nagpur industrial estate co.op.	11350	26,330
52.	6.9.2001	MS. SUDHA MAHESHWARI	11350	5000
53.	20.4.2001	Mr. Iryna Illiash	1397	$ 30
TOTAL :  15,04,966 (Rs.)

Expenses

SRISTI's Gujarat Earthquake Relief Fund: Summary of Expenses

SRISTI received contributions for its efforts for providing relief and rehabilitation in Kutch from a large no. of well wishers as also unknown people. There were people who came to know about our rehabilitation work in earthquake affected areas of Kutch. We are providing a list of all the donors who contributed in our "Gujarat Earthquake Relief (& Rehabilitation) Fund". A summary of expenses incurred so far is also provided below.

Expenses on Earthquake Relief & Rehabilitation Last Updated: 20th December 2001

Sl. No	Date	Persons Managed	Rupees	Details/Usage
1	1.3.2001	Mr. Pravin Kumar	806	Travel & other misc Expenses
2	16.4.2001	Gram Swaraj Sangh- Nilpar	1,94,671	Donation for Education Purpose
3	1.5.2001	Gram Swaraj Sangh - Nilpar	12,840	Donation
4	7.2.2001	Mr. Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya	12,300	Food Material, Travel expenses for providing Relief
5	9.2.2001	Gram Swaraj Sangh - Rapar	10,000	Donation
6	10.2.2001	Amrit Travels	4200	Hired Vehicle - MR SV RAM
7	10.2.2001	Mr. Dhaval Vyas	1,760	Petrol Expenses
8	14.2.2001	Mr. Devashi Desai	1,946	Petrol Expenses
9	17.2.2001	Ms Parul Bhavsar	19,600	Purchased Blankets for Distribution
10	19.2.2001	Mr. RPS.Yadav	14,940	Ham Radio Facilities
11	19.2.2001	Mr. Dhanji Bhai Kerai	10,000	Donation
12	20.2.2001	Alok Charitable Trust	25,000	Purchased Blankets & Tents
13	22.2.2001	Mr. Sanjay Goswami	880	Travel Reimbursement
14	23.2.2001	Global InfoTech	5,537	Purchase of APC Smart UPS
15	5.3.2001	Birla AT&T Communications LTD	5,745	Mobile Phone Charges
16	8.3.2001	Kajal Shah	921	Petty Cash Reimbursement
17	8.3.2001	Mr. Mehir Nath Chopra	6000	Transportation
18	17.3.2001	Mr. Dilip Koradiya	3,292	Transportation .& other misc Expenses
19	20.3.2001	Mr. Dilip Koradiya	1,694	Field work-EMRL Programme
20	28.3.2001	Mr. Ramesh Patel	29,741	Material & Transportation
21	30.3.2001	Mr. Mehirrnath Chopra	2,247	Travel - Adhoi Village
22	30.3.2001	Ms Parul Bhavsar	5,528	Visit to Rapar for data collection
23	1.4.2001	Mr. Chiman Parmar	3,980	Salary for March,2001
24	1.4.2001	Ms Parul Bhavsar	4,980	Salary for March,2001
25	24.4.2001	Smyle Studio	595	Roll Developing charges
26	1.5.2001	Gram Swaraj Sangh- Rapar	17,699	Donation from BOB Orskov
27	1.5.2001	Mr.Chiman Parmar	2,000	Salary for April,2001(1.04.01-15.04.01)
28	1.5.2001	Mr. Murali Medisetti	4,930	Salary for April,2001(4.04.01-15.04.01)
29	1.5.2001	Ms Parul Bhavsar	4,980	Salary for April,2001
30	2.5.2001	GIAN	1,300	Purchase of Pulley & Sprayer
31	21.5.2001	Mr. Chiman Parmar	3,000	Advance for Shodhyatra-7
32	22.5.2001	Mr. Mahesh Parmar	1,500	Advance for Shodhyatra-7
33	1.6.2001	Mr. Murali Medisetti	5,480	Salary for May ,2001
34	1.6.2001	Ms Parul Bhavsar	4,980	Salary for May,2001
35	1.6.2001	Mr. Ramesh Patel	1,197	Postal Charges for Shodhyatra-7
36	2.6.2001	Mr. Dilip Koradiya	4,000	Advance for Shodhyatra-7
37	2.6.2001	Mr. Shambhu Rangpara	1,500	Advance for Shodhyatra-7
38	4.6.2001	Mr. Ramji Dabhi	2,000	Advance for Shodhyatra-7
39	11.6.2001	Mr. Ramesh Patel	6,000	Invitation Letters for Shodhyatra-7
40	15.6.2001	Solid Commu	4,341	Xerox of SY-7 invitation letters
41	19.6.2001	Gujarat Vishwakosh Trust	21,400	Books for SY - 7
42	20.6.2001	Laxmi copiers	9,176	Xerox charges for SY-7
43	21.6.2001	Prayog	8,152	Books for Shodhyatra - 7
44	25.6.2001	Solid Commu	3,005	Xerox for shodhyatra -7
TOTAL : 9,65,445 (Rs)

Reports

Reports on Earthquake Relief & Rehabilitation efforts in Kutch:

Kutch an eye witness account:

An earthquake hit Bhuj on 26^th January 2001, it has overwhelmed the area with death, destruction of unimaginable magnitude. The once flourishing towns/ villages have been reduced to a heap of rubble. The nature’s ire has caught the region unaware and inflicted upon the population death (over one Lakh), destruction (in villages & towns all structures have been flattened, communication disrupted, water & electricity supply gone and everything resembles a war zone). Read More...

Silver Lining in Dark Clouds:

When the earthquake of 7.9 magnitude on Richter scale affected much of Gujarat and showed much of its ire in Kutch, little did people realize how they are going to rebuild all that they have built through hundreds of years. But they say there is a silver lining in every cloud. A small Gandhian Institute "Gram Swarajaya Seva Sangh" in Nilpar village showed the way for the dazed population of Rapar. Situated in Rapar Taluka of district Kutch, though itself reduced to a heap of rubble and stones the Institutes residents got together their spirit under the leadership of its Director Mr. Ramesh Bhai Sangvi. The institute putting aside its own rebuilding efforts purged itself into helping the adjoining areas severely affected by the quake. Read More...

Networking Innovative teachers for Educational Rehabilitation: SRISTI’s & IIMACORE initiative for rebuilding Kutch

SRISTI and IIMA-CORE initiated relief work on the very next day of the earthquake. The very next day collection center at IIMA started functioning and goods have been deployed at interior villages. For effective distribution, need-assessment survey undertaken with the help of IIMA faculty, students and SRISTI volunteers. Read More...

A Volunteers view point on SRISTI-IIMACORE School Project: Neil Mascarenhas

The project undertaken involved the documentation of the work done by SRISTI in education and towards setting up of supplementary schools and ashrams in selected villages of Rapar taluka, Kutch area. It is part of the ongoing rehabilitation effort SRISTI is providing to the affected villages and peoples. Read more...

Sikshan Sodh Evam Shram Arpan Yatra:

The seventh Shodhyatra was devoted to a special cause and planned to serve the purpose of educational rehabilitation in most-affected sixteen villages of Rapar taluka of Kutch. While most of the agencies and government efforts geared more towards distribution of goods and civil works, education rehabilitation has been considered is an area, which had been neglected. Read More....

Report1

Kutch an Eye witness account:

Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya

An earthquake hit Bhuj on 26^th January 2001, it has overwhelmed the area with death, destruction of unimaginable magnitude. The once flourishing towns/ villages have been reduced to a heap of rubble. The nature’s ire has caught the region unaware and inflicted upon the population death (over one Lakh), destruction (in villages & towns all structures have been flattened, communication disrupted, water & electricity supply gone and everything resembles a war zone).

A team of SRISTI/ IIMA reached Bhuj on 29^th January 2001. The team comprised of five volunteers and a Doctor courtesy the Civil hospital, Ahmedabad. As the team moved into the area an array of vehicles moving with people on trucks, buses or whatever moving thing, with blank faces greeted us. Another sets of vehicles were rushing with a mission to reach Bhuj with their loads of supplies. The area is virtually being fed with supplies (there is a sweet/bitter side to this also)

Bhuj a firsthand account on relief work:

Bhuj have been severely affected by the earthquake the amount of destruction is unimaginable. SRISTI / IIMA team went into the area for providing support to the relief operation. A first hand report on the situation in the region is given as under with suggestion for future action needed to provide relief support in the area:

Observations:

The destruction in the quake effected area is almost complete, the major affected areas in Kutch are:

• Bhuj
• Anjar
• Bachao
• Rapar

The destruction is almost total in Anjar & Bachao where except 2% buildings all have been reduced to rubble. In Bhuj the destruction is also very heavy with almost 90% building are rendered useless. The administration has been caught on the wrong foot and even after 7 days of the catastrophe it has not been able to put its acts together in relief work. But off course the VIP visits are well coordinated and remain unaffected in their glamour. Meeting with the district officials in Bhuj convinced us that we could only work if we should go to the affected areas. But the trip to Bhuj cleared several rumours milling in Ahmedabad about the actual situation the area, which are:

• The status of supplies in the area:

  The area has been flooded by supplies from thousands of organizations, institutions, individuals, religious sects etc. The major components of supplies in the initial days included cooked food, food grains, blankets, medicines etc.

• The worst affected areas & relief:

  The worst affected areas have already received sufficient support and in that process some of the lesser affected areas were not receiving any support at all. These areas though have similar amount of physical damage but less of human life loss. The relief in this areas was slow in reaching.

• Co-ordination:

  The coordination between government and other organizations was very poor. The amount of relief material that has piled up in various areas (viz. Bhuj, Bachao & Anjar) is not been distributed owing to this lack of co-ordination.

• In the affected areas, there is a random distribution being done at present by self motivated people, voluntary organizations, religious organizations etc. The help from govt. is non-existent. Though at present almost all the villages remote as well as others have been reached by their Herculean efforts. But systematic distribution of supplies already pouring in is not happening. Hence the amount of needs that have been fulfilled for a village is not known to anybody.
• The distribution of relief material is also not homogenous, so much of the supplies that are reaching include only the cooked food (during the initial days), food grain, flour (wheat – which is not part of there staple diet), water packets, clothes (which are not suitable for them), blankets (limited no.).
• Since the basic medical aid had already reached the area, only secondary dressing of the wounds is the current necessity. This necessity was being met in most of the area again through non-organized efforts.
• The present situation warrants secondary dressing of wound of the people who have not gone to the hospital and stayed back in the village. Another problem area is cases of unattended people, who have lost there near and dear ones and have been hurt. They are finding it difficult to access the medical facility.
• Some of the cases of medical need, which require surgical attention, were not able to reach the hospital due to lack of transport. Though they have their own vehicle in villages but they did not have fuel for the same.
• Lack of communication network:

  The whole area is devoid of any means of communication facility. Minimal communication facility has been started via satellite phone and HAM radio stations. The centers at which these stations are maintained are:

• Bhuj – Ham Radio station – Manned by Abhiyan.
• Satellite Phone – Manned by Abhiyan at Jublee ground.
• Communication stations of Police, Army, and BSF are separate from these.
• Bachao- HAM Radio station – Manned By Abhiyan – At the crossroads on entering Bacho.
• Shamakhyali- A HAM radio station to be started – on 2^nd January 2001 morning at Shanti Dham, operated by Kutch Yuvak Sangh.
• Rapar- Satellite Phone at BSF camp in Rapar manned by BSF
• Radhanpura- STD/PCO are working here.
• Mobile communication- Minimal mobile communication have been restored in the area – Mobile is working now in Anjar, Bachao & Bhuj.
• Electricity:

  Electricity have not been restored till now at any place - There is no indication how much time it would take to restore the same.

Coordination in Rapar from Nilpar:

Through the efforts of Mr. Kapil Shah & Mr. Ramesh Sangavi Director, of Gandhian Institute "Gram Swarajaya Sangh" proper co-ordination have been worked out with various NGO’s, which have made the Institute as the base for relief work in Rapar taluka. We coordinated with the institute and other NGO’s in providing relief supplies and provided medical, food grain, shelter, blanket support to 10 villages in the area. Another more crucial thing that we initiated in the area was coordination with all NGO’s to do a damage assessment exercise in the area so as to know how much supplies are needed in the area. A questionnaire was designed and circulated through all the NGO teams to collect data relating to the basic facility, medical requirement (post operative care), food and shelter requirement, human mortality, cattle mortality property damage, fodder requirement etc. This information is crucial for three things:

• Compensation to the victims for – human deaths cattle death, property damage.
• Basic requirements of the area and long term planning for reconstruction efforts.
• To negotiate with the govt. to provide the required need to the affected people

We visited ten villages and surveyed as per the format as mentioned above to do a damage assessment in the area (Table included)

Suggestions for future co-ordination of efforts:

• A communication network should be established between various nodes for proper coordination between centers through which supplies could be routed to the affected areas.
• The relief supplies that have been accumulated in the area should be properly distributed in coordination with different organizations working in the area.
• The supplies that are needed now are: Blankets, shelter material (tarpaulin, tent etc), food grain (not cooked food- Rice, pulses, oil, spices, salt, millet flour etc), kerosene, some medicine used in post operative care, medicines for cold, diesel for vehicles and for running bore wells, chlorine tablets for purification of water.
• Distribution centers that already exist should be strengthened instead of forming new distribution centers. Co-ordination points to be established for routing the shipments into the area at the entrance of the area and along the route, NGO already working in the area should do the damage assessment along the format (as mentioned earlier) and hence to start the secondary process of relief in the area i.e. reconstruction, post operative care and health education to the VHW, getting them the govt. compensation etc.
• Some sort of co-ordination with the govt. should be worked out to have a monitoring process in relief supplies to avoid duplication of efforts and using the huge quantum of govt. of relief material that have been accumulated by govt. from foreign aid and other contributions.
• An important point to be noted as per the present scenario is that no govt. aid has reached the villages in at least the Rapar Taluka as per our observation.
• For long term sustainability of efforts mobilization of resources from Govt. & Private industries who are ready to adopt areas for over all development is crucial as NGO’s have a crucial development related information of the area and also they would be having the crucial data of assessment already done. Nilpar would be hopefully having this data of a larger chunk of villages of 97 villages in Rapar Taluka by 3^rd February 2001. Which would be a crucial bargaining point for effective coordination with the Government and private agency which ever comes in the area for reconstruction phase.

Report2

Silver lining in dark clouds ……….

Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya

When the earthquake of 7.9 magnitude on Richter scale affected much of Gujarat and showed much of its ire in Kutch, little did people realize how they are going to rebuild all that they have built through hundreds of years. But they say there is a silver lining in every cloud. A small Gandhian Institute "Gram Swarajaya Seva Sangh" in Nilpar village showed the way for the dazed population of Rapar. Situated in Rapar Taluka of district Kutch, though itself reduced to a heap of rubble and stones the Institutes residents got together their spirit under the leadership of its Director Mr. Ramesh Bhai Sangvi. The institute putting aside its own rebuilding efforts purged itself into helping the adjoining areas severely affected by the quake. It started slowly and joined its efforts under coordination of Mr. Kapil Shah to form volunteers network of NGO’s to reach into almost all the villages in Rapar taluka. Against all odds of its position, lack of communication facility, its own destruction the Institute hosted teams of about 20 NGO’s to form a formidable distribution and relief network in whole of Kutch area.

In this whole process though the Institutes people energy was spent on acting as host at one time for about 200 people and coordinating the supplies and there distribution. The results are for all to see:

Within 5 days all the villages had been covered (97 villages in Rapar)

Preliminary data collection for damage assessment had been done for 47 villages

Primary medical provided to all the affected villages

Coordinated to establish an OT for operations in Rapar

Supply chain management system for effective distribution of relief material

Much more was done but probably for figures liking individuals the contributions as mentioned above would have more weightage to understand the magnitude of operation being carried out in place where even the mighty District administration have not been bale to put its acts together to actually make the supply reach the villages, which have not reached even after 8 days of quake. The efforts have been immense, the sacrifice is worshipable, the efforts have saved many.

The Institute now wants volunteers and funds to stand back to its feet. Having serviced the society at its worst time it is now the onus of the society a debt, which can never actually be returned. But then some contribution in terms of "Shram Dan" and funding support for rebuilding what once was temple of learning what we are almost on the verge of loosing compassion probably we can do a little to repay in a small way to this Institute. In the time of need the Institute have shown the path to people now is the time for people to get together and come to rebuild not in cement and concrete but in tradition and heritage which proved to be the silver lining to the quake affected people of Rapar.

Proposed Plan for Development of the Institute:

This plan seeks to rebuild the Institute. As the damage is almost total the best bet for the Institute and its residents who are also affected is to rebuild the Institute according to better plan (earthquake resistant). The Institute before the quake housed classrooms, administrative block, hostels, Staff quarters, Director residence, kitchen, water pump station besides other basic infrastructure.

The approximate land area to be rebuilt: 2400 Sq yards

No. of building existed: 10-12 excluding the staff residence

Structure, single storey, tiled roof

Hostels & Staff residence to be separately built

Total approximate expenditure required: Two Crore Rupees (Rs. 2,00,00,000.00)

Gram Swaraj Sangh

Gram Swaraj Sangh - A Gandhian Institute preserving values of selfless service

Special Report: Silver lining in Black Clouds

Go to Institute Photo Album, effect of Earthquake: Click Here

The National council of Rural Institute New Delhi, had sanctioned a project "Naye Talim" in Gujarat. The project proposed to create an impact on education in rural areas under ‘Naye Talim’. Out of the 25 selected institutions selected to start theses institutions, the 11th institution of ‘Naye Talim’ was started under the aegis of Gram Swaraj Sangh Trust, at Nilpar. The institute started on 18/6/1979 in the back ground region like Vagad (Rapar, Bhachau) Taluka of Kutch district. The institution has been the local point for village development in the Rapar Taluka in a very special way....

The Sangh Philosophy:

• The Sangh undertakes projects to benefit the people of the area, ensuring at the same time mass participation of the people for whose benefit the activity is being undertaken.
• Fair, transparent and economical administration.
• The Sangh believes in equality without discrimination on the basis of religion, caste or gender, with the intention of helping the last man first.
• The Sangh believes in Gandhian Philosophy and political non-alignment.
• Promote community living based on work and society with socially relevant education.

Sangh Structure:

Sri Gram Swaraj Sangh operates as a mother organization, acting as an umbrella for other organizations for development work in the area. All work is carried out by charitable trusts.

	Name of the Organization	Year Started
Main Organization	Sri Gram Swaraj Sangh, Nilpar	1978
Sister Organization	Sushil Trust	1991
Sister Organization	Maganbhai Soni Smarak Trust	1993

The organization operates from four campuses - Nilpar, Vallabhpur, Ratanpar (Khadir) and Selari.


Working:

Education: 700 children are studying from 1st to 10th standard in various schools run by the Sangh and associated organizations. Of these, 500 children study in residential schools, with the organization bearing expenses with the help of the government and other organizations engaged in similar work. The Sangh inculcates self-respect and independence in students along with community work. They earn whatever they eat and do not live off others. We try to ensure that they earn their livelihood.

Other than the syllabus that is covered they are given exposure to libraries, laboratories, work camps, treasure hunts, fetes, travel tours, creative-writing competitions etc. Other than these, other programmes are run for the benefit of the school children. Hostel, Gaushala, Adivasi Kanyashala, and Residence of workers, offices, and guesthouse etc. total 59 buildings are erected.

Library: There are specialized books numbering 3200 in the library. Collection of Tagore’s works, Meghani, Premchandaji, Gandhiji, Pananalal Patel, Kanyalal Munshi, Vinobaji, Gunavant shah, Kanti Bhatt, Sachidnadji, Kundanika Kapadia, Kanti Shah etc. well known and famous writers published books are stored in the library. At present expenditure have been made Rs. 46,260/- worth of books have

Laboratory: The liveliness of the laboratory wholly on the science teacher. The vidyalaya has sufficient special ‘dust proof ‘ accommodation, Life science, experiments, are also performed on the subject of agriculture on every children. Every year by the student of every standard. For eg. katka kalam, Bhet kalam, Gundi kalam, find out the proportion of the fats in the milk, give proper treatment to sick cattle and preparing jam, cold drinks (sharbat) penda (sweet item) and Shreekhand.

Relief and Reconstruction of Homes

1. Kutch is a region that is often devastated by natural calamities. Five out of every seven years people in this area are faced by adverse situations in the form of famine, cyclones, etc.
   • 1986-1988: In these three years of calamity, the students ran a program for providing fodder and water for the livestock in the district.
   • This program was also run in 1993-1994 and ensured that food was also available for the cattle owners. This was run over a period of seven months and covered 1000 buffaloes and 250 cows.
   • 1999-2000: In this period, relief work was done in the areas of Khadhir, and cows and buffaloes were tended as before. In the villages covered in this period: Kharoda, Ganeshpur, and Ratanpur - cattle feeding centres were started which are still functioning successfully.
   • In the cyclone that devastated Gujarat in 1998, the students ran a “Kutch rehabilitation program” was run alongside other relief activities. This involved building 65 houses in the villages of Amrapar, Versivaat, Lalahiravaat, Gadhada and Ratanpur. With the donations that arrived as a result of relief activities during this time, “Sulabh Gram Aavas Yojna” was started. Under this Rs 4,000 is given for reconstruction of houses and the scheme covered about 1100 families.
2. In the earthquake that devastated Kutch on 26th January in Bhuj, Bhachau, Anjar and Rapar Taluka, most of the villages and towns were destroyed. There was significant loss of property at various campuses. Nilpar and Vallabhpur campuses of the Trust were totally grounded. Along with the help of other NGOs, GSS got into relief work for the region and the Nilpar campus was converted into a base for initiation of relief activities in the Rapar taluka.
3. Employment - Self-dependence: In order to provide employment to all the residents of the Gram, “Amber Spinning Centre” was started. By ways of this scheme, 18 women earned revenue of about Rs.4 lakh in the year 1999-2000. Tailors also received employment under this scheme. The Khadi Bhandar that is operated by the institution has annual revenue of approximately Rs. 20 lakhs. In the villages of Selari, Kanpar, Vallabhpur, Sai, Ratanpar, Dholavira stitching centres have been operational. This process has helped 113 artisans helped by ensuring independent employment streams.
4. Agriculture and Livestock: On it’s main campuses there is about 15 acres of agricultural tract and students are taught on various aspects of agriculture. At the Nilpar campus, a cowshed, which houses 12 cows, is present. All work related to agriculture and livestock in the school is managed by the students.
5. Environment friendliness: Planting trees, soil enhancement, waste management, water management are various programs that also carried out in the realm of environment friendly treatises. The organization considers environment protection as one of the utmost priorities in this generation. Description of Rural Development activities that have been carried out are given below

Works	No.s
New pond construction	11
Old pond repairing Low Cost Housing	16 / 2000
Wells revived	609
Wells recharged	79
Public Toilets	696
Clearing of canals Bandh Formation	19,160 fields

A program has been proposed to take over the rehabilitation of five new villages by means of the Watershed programnext year.

The level of the destruction to the institution due to the on 26th devastating earthquake, the rough formula on necessary rehabilitation

The institute’s campus at Nilpar has virtually been razed to the ground and is not in a good condition to use again. The institution has been built by the hard work and savings of 23 years like little drops make an ocean, but all this has been razed to the ground in only 100 seconds earthquake. 50,000 square foot construction and roughly 40 buildings have been useless.

Rehabilitation:

The process of work of rehabilitation of the buildings has begun. In the construction to be done hence forth the following point will be kept in mind.

1. It will be made form the local material as far as possible.

2. Use of old discarded building material.

3. Create local employed.

4. Construction should be simple, heat and economically designed.

5. The necessity of the entire campus should be kept in mind while preparing the master plan and reconstruction

6. Local climate, way to living, cultural needs should be adhered to.

7. Can withstand where earthquake proof.

The work of implementing all the above parameters simultaneously has been precarious and may require some time. For that our experience over and above various experience of various rules and design and planning based on them are taken in to consideration.

Other Activities:

Eye donations, physical health programs, and provision of justice to the underprivileged are other programs that are run by the organization.




Sr. No.	Campus/Area	Agency Involved	Year Estd.	Classes	Girls/ boys	type of school	No. of students
1	Son Tekri, Nilpar	Sri Gram Swaraj Sangh	1978	8th-10th	Both	Middle School	150
2	Son Tekri, Nilpar	Sri Gram Swaraj Sangh	1978	8th-10th	Boys	School	120
3	Son Tekri, Nilpar	Sri Gram Swaraj Sangh	1994	1st-7th	Girls	Residential	120
4	Vallabhpur	Sri Gram Swaraj Sangh	1951	1st-7th	Boys	School	60
5	Vallabhpur	Sri Gram Swaraj Sangh	1990	1st-7th	Girls	School	20
6	Vallabhpur	Sri Gram Swaraj Sangh	1999	1st-3rd	Both	Residential	60
7	Vallabhpur	Sri Gram Swaraj Sangh		Balwadi	Both	Balwadi	20
8	Ratanpur, Khadir	Sushil Trust	1994	1st-7th	Girls	Residential	120
9	Ratanpur, Khadir	Sushil Trust	1999	8th-9th	Both	Middle School	64
10	Ratanpur, Khadir	Sushil Trust	2000	8th-9th	Boys	School	18
11	Rapar	Sushil Trust	1992	Balmandir	Both	Balmandir	50
12	Rapar	Sushil Trust	1993			Library
13	Selari	Maganbhai Soni Smarak Trust	1994	8th-10th	Both	Middle School	150

Annexure 3:

Estimation cost of Nilpar campus buildings:

Sr. No	Name of the Department (Building)	Total Construction (Sq.foot)	Expenditure
1	Vinay Mandir U. Buniyadi Vidyalaya	12838.5	29,88,630
2	Adivasi School	16107.5	35,52,470
3	Mavjibhai ved Chatralaya	12698.5	27,30,670

Cost Estimation of Shree Gram Swaraj Sangh – Nilpar,
Vinay Mandir Uttar Buniyadi Vidhyalaya (Taluka Rapar –Kutch) Total 150 students

Sr. No	Name of Building	No. of Building	Measure	Total Area (sq.foot)	Construction (sq.foot/Rs.)	Total Estimation Cost (Rs.)
1	Office	1	22*18	396	250	99,000
2	Staff Room	1	22*18	396	250	99,000
3	Class Room (8th stand.)	1	32*20	640	250	1,60,000
4	(9th +10th stand.)	1	22*18	792	250	1,98,000
5	Laboratory	1	30*20	600	250	1,50,000
6	Agriculture Lab	1	22*18	396	250	99,000
7	Library	1	22*18	396	250	99,000
8	Reading Room	1	22*18	396	250	99,000
9	Socially use for project work Room (SUPW)	1	22*18	396	250	99,000
10	Instrument Room	1	15*12	180	250	45,000
11	Hobby Room	1	22*25	550	250	1,37,500
12	Girls Room	1	10*12	120	200	24,000
13	Prayer hall	1	80*20	1600	250	4,00,000
14	Stage (Rangbhumi)	1	25*25	625	40	25,000
15	Office	1	10*15	150	160	24,000
16	Store Room	1	12*15	180	160	28,800
17	Water Tank	1	6*5*5	150	55	8250
18	Toilets	6	3.5*3	63	160	10.080
19	Bathrooms	10	2.5*2.5	62.5	160	10,000
20	Principal House	1	32.5*20	650	250	1,62,500
21	Teachers quarters	5	450	2250	250	5,62,500
22	Clerk+Sevak Quarters	2	450	900	250	2,25,000
23	Workshop	1	40*20	800	250	2,00,000
24	Water room	1	10*15	150	160	24,000
				TOTAL		29,88,630

Note: Rs. 250/- cost estimation construction / sq.foot is including light fittings, Furniture, plumbing, Wall drawer. It is approximately cost.

Cost Estimation of Shree Gram Swaraj Sangh - Nilpar,
Adivasi school –Ashram Girls school Taluka Rapar – Kutch (120 Students)




Sr. No	Name of Building	No. of Building	Measure	Total Area (sq.foot)	Construction (sq.foot/Rs.)	Total Estimation Cost (Rs.)
1	Office	1	15*20	300	250	75,000
2	Staff Room	1	15*20	300	250	75,000
3	Class Room (1st stand.)	1	20*20	400	250	1,00,000
4	(2nd +7th stand.)	6	15*20	1800	250	4,50,000
5	Laboratory	1	20*20	400	250	1,00,000
6	Library	1	15*20	300	250	75,000
7	Swathaya Room	1	22*20	440	250	1,10,000
8	Hostel –1	1	70*20	1400	250	3,50,000
9	Hostel	1	30*20	1800	250	4,50,000
10	Dinning Room	1	70*20	1400	250	3,50,000
11	Kitchen	1	22*22	484	250	1,21,000
12	Store Room	1	22*2522	484	250	1,21,500
13	Logistic room	1	15*12	180	200	45,000
14	Parents Room	1	10*12	120	250	30,000
15	Patient Room	1	10*12	120	250	30,000
16	Principal House	1	25*20	500	250	1,25,000
17	Teachers Quarter	6	20*20	2400	250	6,00,000
18	Hobby Room	1	15*20	300	250	75,000
19	Instrument Room	6	10*12	120	250	30,000
20	Stage	1	2.5*2.5	625	40	10,000
21	Store Room	1	15*12	180	250	45,000
22	Coal+Fuel Room	1	15*20	300	100	30,000
23	Toilets	12	3.5*3	126	160	20,160
24	Bathrooms	10	2.5 *2.5	62,5	160	10,000
25	Water Tank	3	6*5*5	450	55	24,750
26	Bathroom	12	4.5*4	216	160	34,560
28	Underground water Tank	1	10*10*6	600	40	24,000
			TOTAL			35,52,470

Note: This Ashramshala is provided facility up to primary school. (Standard 1^st to 7^th )
Rs. 250/- cost estimation; construction/sq.foot is including light fittings, Furniture, plumbing, Wall drawer. It is approximately cost.

Sr. No	Name of Building	No. of Building	Measure	Total Area (sq.foot)	Construction (Sq.foot/Rs.)	Total Estimation Cost (Rs.)
1	Office	1	18*22	396	250	99,000
2	Hostel-1(Prayer hall)	1	100*20	2000	250	5,00,000
3	Hostel	8	20*12	1920	250	4,80,000
4	Kitchen	1	22*22	484	250	1,21,000
5	Store Room	1	22*25	550	250	1,37,500
6	Dinning Room	1	70*20	1400	250	3,50,000
7	Parents Room	1	15*12	1400	250	45,000
8	Patient Room	1	12*12	144	250	35,000
9	Logistics Room	1	15*12	180	250	45,000
10	Students store Room	1	10*12	120	250	30,000
11	Store Room	1	15*12	180	160	28,800
12	Library+ Swathaya Room	1	22*25	550	250	1,37,500
13	Water Room	1	10*15	150	160	24,000
14	Generator Room	1	15*12	180	160	28,800
15	Coal+ Fuel Room	1	15*20	300	100	30,000
16	Rector Room	1	20*20	800	250	2,00,000
17	Security Room	1	20*15	300	250	2,25,000
18	Cook’s Room	3	20*15	900	250	2,25,000
19	Under ground Tank	1	10*15*6	900	40	36,000
20	Toilets	12	3.5*3	126	160	20,160
21	Bathrooms	12	3.5*3	126	160	20,160
22	Swimming Place	1	25*12	300	90	27,000
23	Bathroom	12	3.5*3	126	160	10,000
24	Water Tank (drink)	3	6*5*5	450	55	24,750
				Total		27,30,670

Contact Address:


Gram swaraj Sangh,
lilpar,
mandal:raphar,
Dist:Kutch
Gujarat
Ph no:091-02830-21479


Monetary Contributions are invited from individuals/ organizations NGO's....... Checks payable to:


Shri GramSwarajSangh Earthquake Relief Fund
DenaBank(Rahpar) Acount no:7656

Flood

The Flood Update

The recent floods in Gujarat have claimed at least 56 people and left 65, 000 people homeless. The flood has affected around 10, 000 villages in 117 talukas in the 18 districts of the state. The most affected districts include Kheda, Vadodara, Surendra Nagar, Navsari, Surat, Ahmedabad, Valsad, Anand, Amreli and Bhavnagar. Till the last available information, power supply was affected in 4547 villages and 31 town, where as 1800 electricity feeder and 667 electricity distribution transformer have been affected. In total 1, 97, 276 people have been evacuated from various flood affected districts.

For more updates on the floods, visit the following links:

1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4640137.stm
2. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/KHII-6DY2VQ?OpenDocument
3. http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1417556,000900040003.htm
4. http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/07/03/india.rain.reut
5. http://www.gujaratpost.com/

The Resource Material

Rescue & Evacuation

The first step involved in any disaster like the current flood in Gujarat is the rescue and evacuation. Though quite a lot of things go under the caption of disaster prepared ness, evacuation and a tentative blue print for dealing with the calamity are the basic ingredients of any pre-disaster preparedness plan. Evacuation is a pre-emptive move to protect life and property, where as rescue is a post-disaster phenomenon of helping people to move from areas that have been hit by disaster to a safer place. However, the situation of evacuation and rescue comes along with numerous unanswered queries in mind. Very often, due to lack of information or in haste, living during evacuation and rescue becomes difficult and painful. However, during such the situations, following precautionary norms should be kept in mind.

Preparing for a Flood

Here are some basic steps to take to prepare for the flood:

• Contact the local geologist or town planning department or meteorology department to find out if your home is located in a flash-flood-prone area or landslide-prone area.
• Learn about your community's emergency plans, warning signals, evacuation routes, and locations of emergency shelters.
• Plan and practice a flood evacuation route with your family. Ask an out-of-state relative or friend to be the "family contact" in case your family is separated during a flood. Make sure everyone in your family knows the name, address, and phone number of this contact person.
• Post emergency phone numbers at every phone.
• Inform local authorities about any special needs, i.e., elderly or bedridden people, or anyone with a disability.
• Identify potential home hazards and know how to secure or protect them before the flood strikes. Be prepared to turn off electrical power when there is standing water, fallen power lines etc. Turn off gas and water supplies before you evacuate. Secure structurally unstable building materials.
• Buy a fire extinguisher and make sure your family knows where it is and how to use it.
• Buy and install sump pumps with back-up power.
• Have a licensed electrician to raise electric components (switches, sockets, circuit breakers and wiring) at least 12" above your home's projected flood elevation.
• For drains, toilets, and other sewer connections, install backflow valves or plugs to prevent floodwaters from entering.
• Anchor fuel tanks which can contaminate your basement if torn free. An unanchored tank outside can be swept downstream and damage other houses.

If you are under a flood watch or warning:

• Gather the emergency supplies you previously stocked in your home and stay tuned to local radio or television station for updates.
• Turn off all utilities at the main power switch and close the main gas valve if evacuation appears necessary.
• Have your immunization records handy or be aware of your last tetanus shot, in case you should receive a puncture wound or a wound becomes contaminated during or after the flood.
• Fill bathtubs, sinks and plastic soda bottles with clean water. Sanitize the sinks and tubs first by using bleach. Rinse and fill with clean water.
• Bring outdoor possessions, such as lawn furniture, grills and trash cans inside or tie them down securely.

Emergency Supplies You Will Need

You should stock your home with supplies that may be needed during the emergency period. At a minimum, these supplies should include:

• Several clean containers for water, large enough for a 3-5 day supply of water (about five gallons for each person).
• A 3-5 day supply of non-perishable food and a non-electric can opener.
• A first aid kit and manual and prescription medicines and special medical needs.
• A battery-powered radio, flashlights, and extra batteries.
• Sleeping bags or extra blankets.
• Water-purifying supplies, such as chlorine or iodine tablets or unscented, ordinary household chlorine bleach.
• Baby food and/or prepared formula, diapers, and other baby supplies.
• Disposable cleaning cloths, such as "baby wipes" for the whole family to use in case bathing facilities are not available.
• Personal hygiene supplies, such as soap, toothpaste, sanitary napkins, etc.
• An emergency kit for your car with food, flares, booster cables, maps, tools, a first aid kit, fire extinguisher, sleeping bags, etc.
• Rubber boots, sturdy shoes, and waterproof gloves.
• Insect repellent containing DEET, screens, or long-sleeved and long-legged clothing for protection from mosquitoes which may gather in pooled water remaining after the flood.

Preparing to Evacuate

Expect the need to evacuate and prepare for it. When a flood watch is issued, you should:

• Fill your vehicle's gas tank and make sure the emergency kit for your car is ready.
• If no vehicle is available, make arrangements with friends or family for transportation.
• Fill your clean water containers.
• Review your emergency plans and supplies, checking to see if any items are missing.
• Tune in the radio or television for weather updates.
• Listen for disaster sirens and warning signals.
• Put livestock and family pets in a safe area. Due to food and sanitation requirements, emergency shelters cannot accept animals.
• Adjust the thermostat on refrigerators and freezers to the coolest possible temperature.

If You Are Ordered to Evacuate

You should never ignore an evacuation order. Authorities will direct you to leave if you are in a low-lying area, or within the greatest potential path of the rising waters. If a flood warning is issued for your area or you are directed by authorities to evacuate the area, follow the below mentioned checklists:

• Take only essential items with you.
• If you have time, turn off the gas, electricity, and water.
• Disconnect appliances to prevent electrical shock when power is restored.
• Follow the designated evacuation routes and expect heavy traffic.
• Do not attempt to drive or walk across creeks or flooded roads.

If You Are Ordered NOT to Evacuate

To get through the storm in the safest possible manner:

• Monitor the radio or television for weather updates.
• Prepare to evacuate to a shelter or to a neighbour's home if your home is damaged, or if you are instructed to do so by emergency personnel.

Health & Sanitary Precautions

Are there any special health risks I need to be aware of when disposing of dead animals after a flood?

What is usually neglected at the time of calamity in the immediate fall of it is the precautionary health and sanitary measures. It is obvious that in the immediate aftermath of any calamity, food and shelter are the primary preoccupations of the victims as well as the relief giving agency. However, with a little precaution, the same relief work can be done in a safer way couched within the framework of health and sanitary safety. 
The following health and sanitary precautions can be kept in mind:

How to Avoid Illness

Always wash your hands with soap and water that has been boiled or disinfected before preparing or eating food, after toilet use, after participating in flood cleanup activities, and after handling articles contaminated with flood water or sewage. If you receive a puncture wound or a wound contaminated with feces, soil, or saliva, have a doctor or health department determine whether a tetanus booster is necessary.

How to Make Sure Your Food is Safe

Do not eat any food that may have come into contact with flood water. For infants, use only pre-prepared canned baby formula that requires no added water, rather than powdered formulas prepared with treated water. Thawed food can usually be eaten or refrozen if it is still "refrigerator cold," or if it still contains ice crystals. To be safe, remember, "When in doubt, throw it out." Discard any refrigerated or frozen food that has been at room temperature for two hours or more and any food that has an unusual odor, color, or texture.

How to Make Sure That Your Water is Safe

Listen for public announcements on the safety of the municipal water supply. Flooded, private water wells will need to be tested and disinfected after flood waters recede. questions about testing should be directed to your local or state health departments.

Safe water for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene includes bottled, boiled, or treated water. Your state or local health department can make specific recommendations for boiling or treating water in your area. Here are some general rules concerning water for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene.

• Do not use contaminated water to wash dishes, brush your teeth, wash and prepare food, wash your hands, make ice, or make baby formula. If possible, use baby formula that does not need to have water added. You can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to wash your hands. 
• If you use bottled water, be sure it came from a safe source. If you do not know that the water came from a safe source, you should boil or treat it before you use it. Use only bottled, boiled, or treated water until your supply is tested and found safe.
• Boiling water, when practical, is the preferred way to kill harmful bacteria and parasites. Bringing water to a rolling boil for 1 minute will kill most organisms.
• When boiling water is not practical, you can treat water with chlorine tablets, iodine tablets, or unscented household chlorine bleach (5.25% sodium hypochlorite):
1. If you use chlorine tablets or iodine tablets, follow the directions that come with the tablets.
2. If you use household chlorine bleach, add 1/8 teaspoon (~0.75 ml.) of bleach per gallon of water if the water is clear. For cloudy water, add 1/4 teaspoon (~1.50 ml.) of bleach per gallon. Mix the solution thoroughly and let it stand for about 30 minutes before using it.

Note: Treating water with chlorine tablets, iodine tablets, or liquid bleach will not kill parasitic organisms.
Use a bleach solution to rinse water containers before reusing them. Use water storage tanks and other types of containers with caution. For example, fire truck storage tanks and previously used cans or bottles may be contaminated with microbes or chemicals. Do not rely on untested devices for decontaminating water.

Sanitation and Hygiene

It is critical for you to remember to practice basic hygiene during the emergency period. Always wash your hands with soap and water that has been boiled or disinfected:

• Before preparing or eating food;
• after toilet use;
• after participating in flood cleanup activities; and
• after handling articles contaminated with flood water or sewage.

• Flood waters may contain fecal material from overflowing sewage systems, and agricultural and industrial byproducts. Although skin contact with flood water does not, by itself, pose a serious health risk, there is some risk of disease from eating or drinking anything contaminated with flood water. If you have any open cuts or sores that will be exposed to flood water, keep them as clean as possible by washing well with soap to control infection. If a wound develops redness, swelling, or drainage, seek immediate medical attention.

In addition, parents need to help children avoid waterborne illness. Do not allow children to play in flood water areas, wash children's hands frequently (always before meals), and do not allow children to play with flood-water contaminated toys that have not been disinfected. You can disinfect toys using a solution of one cup of bleach in 5 gallons of water.

How to Handle Animals and Mosquitoes

Many wild animals have been forced from their natural habitats by flooding, and many domestic animals are also without homes after the flood. Take care to avoid these animals. Do not corner an animal. If an animal must be removed, contact your local animal control authorities. If you are bitten by any animal, seek immediate medical attention. If you are bitten by a snake, first try to accurately identify the type of snake so that, if poisonous, the correct anti-venom may be administered.

Contact local or state health and agricultural officials for state guidelines on disposal of dead animals. Protect yourself from mosquitoes: use screens on dwellings, wear long-sleeved and long-legged clothing, and use insect repellents that contain DEET.

FAQ

1. Are there any special health risks I need to be aware of when disposing of dead animals after a flood?

The risk to humans from animal carcasses is low, if proper precautions are taken:

• Practice proper hand washing to prevent infection with certain pathogens that may be transmitted from farm animals, including Salmonella and E. coli.
• Secure all food sources and remove any animal carcasses to avoid attracting rats.
• Wear insect repellent when outdoors. Flooding may lead to more mosquitoes, which can carry disease.
• Be on the alert for snakes that may be hiding in unusual places after flooding. If you are bitten, try to identify the snake so that if it is poisonous, you can be given the correct antivenin. Do not cut the wound or attempt to suck the venom out. Contact your local emergency department for further care.

People working to clean up areas containing swine or poultry carcasses should take the following precautions:

• Wear protective clothing, including waterproof gloves, waterproof boots, and protective eyewear (cover any open wounds).
• Use duct tape to seal tops of gloves and boots to prevent water seepage.
• Wear respiratory protection - an N-95 respirator or better.
• If you smell hydrogen sulphide (a rotten egg smell), get out of the building and call for sanitary help. 
• Clean and disinfect all clothing and boots after handling carcass-contaminated materials.
• Wash work clothes separately from street clothes.
• Wash hands thoroughly before placing fingers in mouth (nail biting, etc.).
• Shower and wash hair thoroughly after handling carcass-contaminated materials.
  

2. How do I dispose of a dead animal on my property during flood cleanup?

It is usually the responsibility of the owner or person in charge of domesticated animals to appropriately dispose of dead animals in accordance with local or state ordinances within 24 hours after knowledge of the death. It can be the responsibility of the municipal or county government to designate appropriate people to dispose of any domestic dead animals whose owner cannot be identified. Contact your local animal control department, local health department, or state veterinarian for specific disposal guidance.

3. How do I dispose of the remains of my domestic animals and pets?

• Wear gloves.
• Cover your gloved hand with a plastic trash bag, pick up the remains, then invert the trash bag over the remains and seal the bag.
• For larger animals, use a shovel to place remains inside a plastic trash bag, then rinse off the shovel with water.
• Call your local animal care and control agency for further instructions and to request pickup.
• Wash your hands.
  

4. I am a farmer and I lost a lot of livestock during the flood. How do I dispose of multiple animal remains?

Each farm operation should have specific plans for animal disposal in the event of an emergency. Farm operations should check with state and local authorities to ensure their plan meets local requirements.

Safety and Security

Any natural calamity espouses itself with serous devastation to transportation, communication chaneel, supply of electricity etc. Hence, in the immediate aftermath of any calamity, the surrounding environment becomes dangerous and unsafe due to it's exposure to toxic and harmful objects. This becomes more important for children as they are usually overlooked by the parents during the calamity or in the immediate aftermath of it. The following safety and security guidelines can be kept in mind:

How to Deal With Chemical Hazards ?

Be aware of potential chemical hazards you may encounter during flood recovery. Flood waters may have buried or moved hazardous chemical containers of solvents or other industrial chemicals from their normal storage places. If any propane tanks (whether 20-lb. tanks from a gas grill or household propane tanks) are discovered, do not attempt to move them yourself. These represent a very real danger of fire or explosion, and if any are found, police or fire departments or your State Fire Marshal's office should be contacted immediately. Car batteries, even those in flood water, may still contain an electrical charge and should be removed with extreme caution by using insulated gloves. Avoid coming in contact with any acid that may have spilled from a damaged car battery.

How to Deal with Electric and Gas Utilities ?

Electrical power and natural gas or propane tanks should be shut off to avoid fire, electrocution, or explosions until it is safe to use them. Use battery-powered flashlights and lanterns, rather than candles, gas lanterns, or torches. If you smell gas or suspect a leak, turn off the main gas valve, open all windows, and leave the house immediately. Avoid any downed power lines, particularly those in water. All electrical equipment and appliances must be completely dry before returning them to service. It is advisable to have a certified electrician check these items if there is any question. Also, remember not to operate any gas-powered equipment indoors.

Protect Yourself from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning After an Emergency

Never use generators, grills, camp stoves, or other gasoline, propane, natural gas, or charcoal-burning devices inside your home, basement, garage, or camper-or even outside near an open window. Install a carbon monoxide detector in your house, and check its battery every time you check your smoke detector batteries.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death if you breathe it. When power outages occur during emergencies such as hurricanes or winter storms, you may try to use alternative sources of fuel or electricity for heating, cooling, or cooking. CO from these sources can build up in your home, garage, or camper and poison the people and animals inside.

If you are too hot or too cold, or you need to prepare food, don't put yourself and your family at risk-look to friends or a community shelter for help. If you must use an alternative source of fuel or electricity, be sure to use it only outside and away from open windows.

Every year, more than 500 people die from accidental CO poisoning. CO is found in combustion fumes, such as those produced by small gasoline engines, stoves, generators, lanterns, and gas ranges, or by burning charcoal and wood. CO from these sources can build up in enclosed or partially enclosed spaces.

People and animals in these spaces can be poisoned and can die from breathing CO in an enclosed or partially enclosed space.

Important Tips:

• Never use a gas range or oven to heat a home.
• Never use a charcoal grill, hibachi, lantern, or portable camping stove inside a home, tent, or camper.
• Never run a generator, pressure washer, or any gasoline-powered engine inside a basement, garage, or other enclosed structure, even if the doors or windows are open, unless the equipment is professionally installed and vented. Keep vents and flues free of debris, especially if winds are high. Flying debris can block ventilation lines..
• Never run a motor vehicle, generator, pressure washer, or any gasoline-powered engine outside an open window or door where exhaust can vent into an enclosed area.
• Never leave the motor running in a vehicle parked in an enclosed or partially enclosed space, such as a garage.

Health, Sanitation & Security Measure on Home Coming

One should take safety and health measures while coming back to home after the floods. Even if, there has been no perceptible damage to the house due to flood water, safety and health measures should be taken. Often preventive, these help in reducing family health risks. Following checklists can be useful for rearranging the house with safety and health precautions.

Dry Out Your House

If flood or storm water has entered your home, dry it out as soon as possible. Follow these steps:

• If you have electricity and an electrician has determined that it's safe to turn it on, use a "wet-dry" shop vacuum (or the vacuum function of a carpet steam cleaner), an electric-powered water transfer pump, or sump pump to remove standing water. If you are operating equipment in wet areas, be sure to wear rubber boots. 
• If you do not have electricity, or it is not safe to turn it on, you can use a portable generator to power equipment to remove standing water. Note that you must use a gasoline-powered pump, generator, pressure washer, or any other gasoline-powered tools to clean your home, never operate the gasoline engine inside a home, basement, garage, carport, porch, or other enclosed or partially enclosed structures, even if the windows and doors are open. Such improper use can create dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide and cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
• If weather permits, open windows and doors of the house to aid in the drying-out process. 
• Use fans and dehumidifiers to remove excess moisture. F and should be placed at a window or door to blow the air outwards rather than inwards, so not to spread the mold.
• Have your home heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system checked and cleaned by a maintenance or service professional who is experienced in mold clean-up before you turn it on. If the HVAC system was flooded with water, turning on the mold-contaminated HVAC will spread mold throughout the house. Professional cleaning will kill the mold and prevent later mold growth. When the service determines that your system is clean and if it is safe to do so, you can turn it on and use it to help remove excess moisture from your home.
• Prevent water outdoors from re-entering your home. For example, rain water from gutters or the roof should drain away from the house; the ground around the house should slope away from the house to keep basements and crawl spaces dry.
• Ensure that crawl spaces in basements have proper drainage to limit water seepage. Ventilate to allow the area to dry out.

After a Flood: Cleanup of Flood Water

When returning to your home after a hurricane or flood, be aware that flood water may contain sewage. Protect yourself and your family by following these steps:

• Keep children and pets out of the affected area until cleanup has been completed.
• Wear rubber boots, rubber gloves, and goggles during cleanup of affected area.
• Remove and discard items that cannot be washed and disinfected (such as, mattresses, carpeting, carpet padding, rugs, upholstered furniture, cosmetics, stuffed animals, baby toys, pillows, foam-rubber items, books, wall coverings, and most paper products)..
• Remove and discard drywall and insulation that has been contaminated with sewage or flood waters.
• Thoroughly clean all hard surfaces (such as flooring, concrete, moulding, wood and metal furniture, countertops, appliances, sinks, and other plumbing fixtures) with hot water and laundry or dish detergent, then disinfect with a solution of 1 cup of household bleach to 5 gallons of water. (Note: this solution should not be used for drinking, cooking, or personal hygiene.)
• Help the drying process by using fans, air conditioning units, and dehumidifiers.
• After completing the cleanup, wash your hands with soap and water. Use water that has been boiled for 1 minute (allow the water to cool before washing your hands). 
• Wash all clothes worn during the cleanup in hot water and detergent. These clothes should be washed separately from uncontaminated clothes and linens.
• Wash clothes contaminated with flood or sewage water in hot water and detergent. It is recommended that a Laundromat be used for washing large quantities of clothes and linens until your onsite waste-water system has been professionally inspected and serviced. 
• Seek immediate medical attention if you become injured or ill.

Protect Yourself from Mold

After natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, excess moisture and standing water contribute to the growth of mold in homes and other buildings. When returning to a home that has been flooded, be aware that mold may be present and may be a health risk for your family.

People at Greatest Risk from Mold

The following groups of people may be at greater risk than others for mold:

• Infants and children.
• The elderly.
• People with asthma, allergies, and other respiratory (breathing) conditions.
• People with weakened immune systems (such as people with HIV infection, cancer patients taking chemotherapy, and people who have received an organ transplant).

Possible Health Effects of Mold Exposure

• Stuffy nose, irritated eyes, or wheezing can occur in people who are sensitive to molds.
• Wheezing, difficulty in breathing, and shortness of breath can be an allergic reaction to mold and can sometimes be severe.
• Skin reactions can develop. 
• Mold infections can develop in the lungs of people with weakened immune systems and with chronic lung diseases such as obstructive lung disease. 

Treating Symptoms of Mold Exposure

If you or your family members have health problems after exposure to mold, contact your doctor or other health care provider.

Cleaning Up Mold

After drying out your house and taking protective measures, remove items that cannot be cleaned, and then clean your home and household items. Removal and cleaning are important because even dead mold may cause allergic reactions in some people. Follow the following steps to clear up the mold.

• Make sure the working area is well ventilated.
• Remove all porous items that have been wet for more than 48 hours and that cannot be thoroughly cleaned and dried. These items can remain a source of mold growth and should be removed from the home. When in doubt, take it out! However, homeowners may want to temporarily store items outside of the home until insurance claims can be filed. 
• Porous, non-cleanable items include carpeting and carpet padding, upholstery, wallpaper, drywall, floor and ceiling tiles, insulation material, clothing, leather, paper, wood, or food.
• Clean nonporous surfaces such as walls, floors, and counter surfaces with soap and water. (Use non-ammonia soap or detergent.) Use a stiff brush on rough surface materials such as concrete. 

Preventing Mold from Coming Back

The key to preventing mold from coming back is to control moisture. Mold spores are found in outdoor air, so mold can grow again if conditions are suitable indoors. Previously damp areas must be kept completely dry.

• Clean fabrics (curtains, upholstery, bedding, etc.) often and keep them dry. 
• Store clean fabric items in well-ventilated areas.
• Reduce moisture in the air with dehumidifiers, open windows, or air conditioners, especially in hot weather.
• Keep the humidity in your home between 40% and 60%.Humidity in the home can be measured with a household humidity sensor available at your local hardware store.
• Reduce condensation on cold surfaces by insulating. Examples include insulating air-conditioning ducts, cold water pipes, etc.
• Routinely check potential problem spots such as the bathroom and laundry for moisture and moldy odors.
• Fix leaks in pipes, and investigate any damp areas around tubs and sinks.
• Vacuum and clean surfaces frequently.
• Seek the advice of a mold remediation company if mold growth persists.

Immunizations

Outbreaks of communicable diseases after floods are unusual. However, the rates of diseases that were present before a flood may increase because of decreased sanitation or overcrowding among displaced persons. Increases in infectious diseases that were not present in the community before the flood are not usually a problem. If you receive a puncture wound or a wound contaminated with feces, soil, or saliva, have a doctor or health department determine whether a tetanus booster is necessary based on individual records.
Specific recommendations for vaccinations should be made on a case-by-case basis, or as determined by local and state health departments.

For Further information on flood preparedness, rescue, evacuation and relief, look at the following links:

1. http://www.pep.bc.ca/hazard_preparedness/flooding_preparedness.html
2. http://www.pweng.slco.org/flood/html/fpman_01.htm
3. http://www.bcoem.org/flood.htm
4. http://www.accem.org/floodprep.html
5. http://www.dem.dcc.state.nc.us/PIO/99huraw/AFTERTHEFLOOD.htm
6. http://www.create-your-healthy-home.com/flood-cleanup.htm
7. http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Fire/Emergency+
   Management/Flood+Health+Concerns.htm

The emergency contact details

The emergency contact details for the state of Gujarat for any information or rescue help is given below:

Tele: 079-2322667
Fax: 079-23261916

State Control Room:

Tele: 079- 2320005
Fax: 079-23251916 
Satellite Tele: 762483394

Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority:

Tele: 079 - 2325 9220 / 2325 9306 / 2325 9246
Fax: 079- 2325 9275 / 2325 9289 / 2325 9248

Please provide your support for this initiative by sharing your experience and registering yourself in this system. We hope that with your support we shall be better prepared at the time of next disaster.

For any query pl. mail us at: dmis@sristi.org

Technologies useful in flood affected area

Forecasting of Natural Disasters

Forecasting of natural disasters is not possible but awareness of calamity (earthquake / flood / cyclones) prone areas is also crucial. Some links to information related to various zones prone to natural calamity, warning systems, are listed as under: Write to us at dmis@sristi.org

General:

Disaster Mitigation & Vulnerability Atlas of India:

A combination of local hazard intensity and vulnerability of existing house types has been used for carrying out risk analysis given in the district-wise tables. The Vulnerability Atlas, thus, provides ready macro-level information for use by the authorities for natural disaster mitigation and preventive actions. Recognizing the usefulness of the Vulnerability Atlas for formulating pro-active policies to face the threat of natural hazards, is being brought to the notice of the development planners, decision makers, professionals and householders. Go to http://www.bmtpc.org/disaster.htm

International Research Institute for Climate Prediction:

The IRI Forecasting Research Group provides a seasonal climate forecast. This forecast is a net assessment (or distillation) of information from a variety of climate prediction tools, including dynamical models of the atmosphere, statistical models of climate variability related to sea surface temperature variability, and knowledge of the current state of the climate system. Go to http://iri.columbia.edu/climate/forecast//

Interactive Weather Information Network (IWIN):

This system is located at the National Weather Service Headquarters in Silver Spring, Md. It obtains raw data from a telecommunications gateway, satellites, and other multilayered redundant links. Go to http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/world.html

Earthquake:

World-Wide Earthquake Locator:

The World-Wide Earthquake Locator is an interface developed by Bruce Gittings of the Department of Geography at the University of Edinburgh in 1995, very much as an illustration of what is possible using the World-Wide Web and the internet. It develops the networking aspects of work we have done building an earthquake analysis system using data dynamically obtained over the internet. Select an earthquake's Description of Location to show the location of that earthquake on a map. The data displayed reflect the contents of the USGS earthquake database. Go to http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/quakexe/quakes

World earthquake information from USGS National Earthquake Information Center:

National Earthquake Information Center - World Data Center for Seismology Earthquake information and observation station: The site hosts one of the most comprehensive systems Go to http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/

Earthquake Maps and answers to your questions ABAG Earthquake Maps and Information:

Information links on modeling of houses, publications related to earthquake, maps information, disaster preparedness information. Go to http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/eqmaps.html

Recent Earthquake Activity information center:

CPROST is located at the Harbour Centre campus of Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. It hosts a Emergency Preparedness Information Exchange (EPIX) providing information about recent earthquake activity in different seismic zones of the world. Go to http://hoshi.cic.sfu.ca/quake.html

Earthquake Reporting Service:

U.S. Geological Survey and UC Berkeley service for earthquake reporting. Earthquake basics and educational material; geological and historical information; links to professional and amateur organizations; online access to earthquake data. Current research activities and results in seismology, crystal structure and deformation, geology and borehole physics. for more go to http://quake.wr.usgs.gov

Surfing the Internet for Earthquake Data:

Data Global /composite earthquake information, research or special services Seismo-surfing the Internet. The following are known Internet type connections where original seismic data or seismic research information is available. See the end of the list for several other indexes to related fields. Please send e-mail to steve@geophys.washington.edu with suggested updates to this list. Go to http://www.geophys.washington.edu/seismosurfing.html

Seismicity Maps of Recent Earthquake Activity in the World:

Earthquake Activity, Earthquake Notification E-mail. Earthquake Hazards Program- Present Earthquake Activity across world. Maps of probable hazards from future earthquakes including shaking intensity, liquefaction, landslides. Links to websites and organizations for information about how to prepare for an earthquake. Go to http://earthquake.usgs.gov/activity/world.html

Predicting an Earthquake:

Although a great deal is known about where earthquakes are likely to occur, there is currently no reliable way to predict the days or months when an event will occur in any specific location.. The USGS is thus focusing its research efforts on developing long-range earthquake probability forecasts in seismically active urban areas. The only on-going USGS research in earthquake prediction is the Parkfield Prediction Experiment. Go to http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/prediction.html

EQNet: Earthquake Information Network:

This website provides a common ground for all kinds of information about earthquake disasters. The site is a information store house for valuable data and information services related to earthquakes and similar disasters. The site also contains some information about earthquakes in other countries such as Peru, India, Turkey, etc. Go to http://www.eqnet.org/index.asp

UC Berkley Seismological Laboratory:

Where can I find information on earthquake preparedness and safety? These links offer a variety of useful information on how to prepare your family and your home for a damaging earthquake. An information center for emergency preparedness. Go to http://www.seismo.berkeley.edu/seismo/resource/preparedness.html

Listservs / Newsgroups/ Newsletters on earthquake warning and management:

Organizations and Web Sites for Listservs/Newsgroups/Newsletter. An alphabetical listing of a large number of newsletters and listservs.Go to http://128.205.131.100:591/FMPro?-db=eqnetdb.fp3&-lay=index&-format=categories.html&-
error=categories.html&-max=10&-sortfield=name&-sortorder=ascend&-op=cn&
resourceCat=listservs&-token=Listservs/Newsgroups/Newsletter&-find

European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC):

EMSC runs an Early Warning System for any potentially damaging earthquake in the
European-Mediterranean region (and worldwide for M > 7). It works as a network of seismic networks by merging in near real-time information sent over the Internet by about 30 contributing institutes. It generates between 70 and 100 warning messages each year within an hour of the earthquake occurrence. Go to http://www.emsc-csem.org

Flood:

Effectiveness of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Applications in Flood Management:

Quick Response Report # 130 from Natural Hazards Center titled “Effectiveness of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Applications in Flood Management during and after Hurricane Fran” by Ute J. Dymon. Go to http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/qr/qr114.html

Federal Emergency Management Authority: FAQs to prepare flood mapping:

Floods and hazards mapping using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). for better management of disasters related with floods and dam bursts. Go to http://www.fema.gov/mit/tsd/fq_main.htm

Cyclone:

Cyclone watch online: For Indian Ocean

The image provided depicts the latest JTWC forecast positions for the current Tropical Storm/Typhoon in the West Pacific. Presented are the current position (the large, red Tropical Storm/Typhoon symbol), intensity (the number within the symbol, as listed above), and forecast positions for 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours (the small, white symbols). Track forecast uncertainty (based on JTWC 5-year average forecast track errors (1990-1994)) is represented by the thin yellow line surrounding the white track forecast positions..... more Go to http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/real-time/indian/storm/storm16.html

Cyclone, Hurricane, Information center:

The word "hurricane" probably comes from the Mayan storm god Hunraken, or other Caribbean terms for evil spirit and big wind. And the terms "hurricane", "typhoon" and "tropical storm" all describe the same type of swirling wind activity. They are giant whirlwinds where air moves around a centre of low pressure - the eye of the storm - reaching high speeds in circular waves extending 20 or 30 miles from the middle. Go to
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/newsid_202000/202344.stm

Latest Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) Forecast Positions:

The image provided depicts the latest JTWC forecast positions for the current Tropical Storm/Typhoon in the West Pacific. Presented are the current position (the large, red Tropical Storm/Typhoon symbol), intensity (the number within the symbol, as listed above), and forecast positions for 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours (the small, white symbols). Track forecast uncertainty (based on JTWC 5-year average forecast track errors (1990-1994)) is represented by the thin yellow line surrounding the white track forecast positions..... more Go to http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/real-time/indian/storm/storm16.html

University of Wisconsin, Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies:

Tropical cyclones resource center: Satellite Derived Winds and Analyses of storm related data. Go to http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/

AOML Hurricane Research Division:
FAQ : Hurricanes, Typhoons, And Tropical Cyclones

How much energy does a hurricane release?
What steps should I take when a hurricane watch/warning is posted?
What can I do to make my home/business more disaster resistant?
What kind of hurricane shutters are available ?
Go to http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/tcfaqHED.html

National Hurricane Center:

Tropical Hurricane awareness center. Learn about the hazards of hurricanes and what you can do to help protect yourself, your family, and your property. Go to
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Early cyclone warning system in Andhra Pradesh (India) from 1977–1997 – A case study:

India has a very long coast line of 5700 km which is exposed to tropical cyclones arising in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian sea. The present paper deals with a case study of Andhra Pradesh, a state situated on east coast of India and being most vulnerable for cyclones and hurricanes. Go to http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/ewc98/abstract/sharma.html

Canadian Hurricane Center:

Provides information about the hurricanes, genesis, sequences along with precautions to be taken. Along with educational information for the kids and students interested in studying the hurricanes. The center also provides latest hurricane data in the region. Go to http://www.ns.ec.gc.ca/weather/hurricane/index_e.html

Hurricane and Tropical Storm Info, Southern Regional Climate Center, Louisiana State University:

The center provides information about tropical storms and hurricane. Latest data of tropical storm imagery, observations, satellite data, and predictions based on the trajectory taken is provided on the website. Go to http://www.srcc.lsu.edu/OEP/tropical.html

Hurricane Hunters Home Page:

The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the Hurricane Hunters of the Air Force Reserve, is one-of-a-kind: the only Department of Defense organization flying into tropical storms and hurricanes on a routine basis. Go to http://www.hurricanehunters.com/

Lowes Storm 2000 Hurricane Tracking Site:

The website host a Storm Warning Center, which provides latest information on storms in the region, along with information about regional weather, preparedness for disaster resulting from storms. The center also provide email updates about latest storm predictions. Go to http://www.storm2000.com

National Weather Service Disaster Survey Reports:

National Weather Service teams document the impact of major weather systems. Reports include chronology of forecasting and storm tracking along with related events in the path of the storm. Go to http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/omdis.htm

Purdue University Hurricane and Tropical Data:

This page provides access to a wealth of hurricane information including charts on the track of the storm plus a text based table of tracking information. The table includes position in latitude and longitude, maximum sustained winds in knots, and central pressure in millibars. Go to http://wxp.atms.purdue.edu/hurricane/index.html

Starstone's Eye of the Storm Tracking Software:

Features a CD ROM based hurricane tracking program for the PC. Also a free version for basic tracking and mapping, and a 3D hurricane tracking screen saver. Go to http://www.starstonesoftware.com/eots/

Drought:

Global VCI Imagery:

Satellite data on vegetation and temperature and drought information and paper on Monitoring vegetation condition from NOAA operational polar-orbiting satellites. The site also provides historical data on droughts in various parts of the world. Go to http://orbit-net.nesdis.noaa.gov/crad/sat/surf/vci/

Bureau of Meteorology Australia:

The website provides extracts and summaries from the climate archive, weather predictions up to 7 days ahead, alerts of dangerous weather up to 2 days ahead. Includes wind and storm warnings, fire weather warnings and flood warnings. Besides numerical weather prediction output from computer models (text, gridded data files, maps). A special service called "SILO: Meteorological and agricultural information for rural interests" contains a rich source of meteorological and agricultural information/products for Australia.Go to http://www.bom.gov.au/

Current Drought Status in Queensland, Australia:

This web site is produced by the Queensland Centre for Climate Applications (QCCA). QCCA is a collaborative initiative of the Department of Primary Industries and the Department of Natural Resources to enhance climate applications research and climate extension activities for our rural industries. Go to http://www.dnr.qld.gov.au/longpdk/

NCDC's SSM/I Monthly Image Products

Page allows for global analysis of land surface temperature, wetness, and snow cover. The products presented on the site include full and anomaly fields for wetness and snow cover, and anomaly fields for blended surface temperature for the period January 1992 to the latest available month. These climate products are derived from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI), a polar orbiting satellite with global coverage. Go to http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/servlets/SSMIBrowser

Drought Watch on the Prairies

is a product of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. A great source for current information on drought and its impacts across Canada. The impact of climatic variability on the environment is of great importance to the agricultural sector on the Canadian Prairies. Monitoring the impacts on water supplies, soil degradation and agricultural production is essential to the preparedness of the region in dealing with possible drought conditions. Go to http://www.agr.ca/pfra/drought.htm

The Canadian Climate and Water Information:

This site provides information on the national climate and surface water (hydrometric and sediment) data archives for which Environment Canada has responsibility. The National Archives and Data Management Branch, Atmospheric Monitoring and Water Survey Directorate of the Meteorological Service of Canada maintains these Internet pages on behalf of Environment Canada's various partners and clients, and the Canadian public. Go to http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/climate/index_e.cfm

Sahel Weather and Crop Situation reports from FAO:

The "Sahel Report" is issued every month throughout the growing season, which lasts from June to October. The report describes weather conditions, pest infestations and crop prospects in this drought-prone zone. A synthesis report is published at the end of the season containing first harvest estimates, based on a series of Crop Assessment Missions which are undertaken jointly with national and regional authorities. Go to http://www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/economic/giews/english/esahel/sahtoc.htm

FAO's Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS)for Africa:

GIEWS has been answering questions like these, providing regular bulletins on food crop production and markets at the global level and situation reports on a regional and country-by-country basis. The System aims to provide policy-makers and policy-analysts with the most up-to-date information available on all aspects of food supply and demand, warning of imminent food crises, so that timely interventions can be planned. Go to http://www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/economic/giews/english/giews.htm

CPC's Global Precipitation Monitoring information

The monthly and seasonal outlooks provided are based primarily on climate phenomena that exhibit a relatively large degree of predictability such as the El Niño/ Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, as well as decade-to-decade variability and trends. .... more Go to http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensostuff/
current_impacts/global_precip_accum.html

Weekly Global Climate Highlights from CPC:

The Weekly Global Climate Highlights (WGCH) provides a quick, but not necessarily comprehensive, look at current climate anomalies and episodic events. The product is designed to alert the user to significant situations that warrant further examination or study. Go to http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/GLOB_CLIM/

The Greater Horn Information Exchange (GHIE):

The Greater Horn Information Exchange is dedicated to sharing regional and national data, studies, activities, and analyses for projects in the Greater Horn of Africa with the broadest possible range of GHAI stakeholders, together with providing a variety of resource materials including geographic and thematic maps, data sets, and monitoring and evaluation results which contribute to the holistic, regional perspectives needed to achieve the GHAI goals. Go to http://edcsnw3.cr.usgs.gov/ghai/ghai.html

USAID's Famine Early Warning System (FEWS):

The Goal of the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS NET) is to strengthen the abilities of African countries and regional organizations to manage threats of food security through the provision of timely and analytical early warning and vulnerability information. Go to http://www.fews.net/

Drought Monitor:

Tracking drought blends science and art. No single definition of drought works for all circumstances, so people rely on drought indices to detect and measure droughts. But no single index works under all circumstances, either. That's why we need the Drought Monitor, a synthesis of multiple indices, outlooks and news accounts, that represents a consensus of federal and academic scientists. Go to http://drought.unl.edu/monitor/monitor.html

Source: Various Internet sites as mentioned

How can you help?

You can help us build this resource by joining DMIS. We are looking toward creating a online database of resources and volunteers accessible in times of disaster.
Volunteers would be contacted by respective Disaster Management Authorities of various state governments or NGO's in times of disasters only. The database would be accessible to all, however if the volunteer has chosen not to be accessible to all, his/ her information would not be revealed.

You can help :

1. By volunteering your services for the relief and rescue operations at the time
   of a disaster.
2. By volunteering resources for the relief, rescue and rehabilitation efforts.
3. By sharing your experiences, research, publication, databases etc. 
4. By providing expert advice as to how to deal with this disastrous situation,
   sharing your experiences, publications etc

Areas of expertise could be: 

In Structural Engineering 
Trauma specialists
Rehabilitation planning
Physicians & paramedics
Rescue professionals ............

5. By spreading this message all over the world and asking for joining the effort and volunteering services and resources.
6. By adopting a village or an activity in disaster hit areas. NGO's, Corporate, trusts, Individuals could adopt villages or can take up an activity in the disaster hit areas. A guideline on how should they go about is reflected in Prof. Anil K. Gupta's talk in the aftermath of earthquake in Gujarat and other parts of India. For details click here 
7. By extending monetary contributions for SRISTI's various activities in Kutch and further strengthening the DMIS. [SRISTI is a registered organization, Registration No:64030/96 and under Income Tax Section 80g donors will get the benefit.] 
   Checks payable to "SRISTI A/c – Gujarat Earthquake Relief Fund", Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. 
   Bank - State Bank of India, IIM Branch, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad, India [Branch code 2653]
   Local Transfer : A/c no. 11350 
   International Transfer: Savings Bank A/c No. 11349 Swift Code : SBININBB135
   
   Address for sending contributions:
   
   
   SRISTI 
   C/o Prof. Anil K Gupta 
   Coordinator, SRISTI
   Wing -13, Main Complex
   Indian Institute of Management 
   Vastrapur, 
   Ahmedabad - 380 015
   Gujarat, India
   
   Phone No: +91 079 27913293, 27912792
   Fax No: +91 79 6307341
   Email: dmis@sristi.org 
   
   
   List of earlier contributors. We shall be publishing the name of all contributors on our website besides the details of the use of amount by NGOs and others to whom this money is sent for effective utilization.
   
   SRISTI would also help your contributions reach the affected people by channeling the same through various NGO's and coordinating with Govt. Agencies
   

How to adopt a Village or an activity

Prof. Anil K Gupta

(This is the transcript from Prof. Anil K Gupta's talk at Ahmedabad Management Association, AMA. The talk identifies an approach for relief and rehabilitation, in view of the death and destruction caused by earthquake in various parts of India)

This is a very grim occasion when we have had one of the worst tragedies of our times. The scale at which the recent earthquake has caused the misery is unlikely to have another parallel in the recent history of our country.  When, four of us (two faculty members, one student and one SRISTI volunteer) went to Kutch two days back, we could not see anybody complaining, in any village, . We stood outside the collectorate to watch and observe people. We found nobody shouting, nobody fighting, nobody arguing. We went to the village Damadka which is famous for textiles and ‘Dhamadka’ prints. It was totally ravaged, with hardly 

two or three houses standing. And what did people ask for when we inquired about their needs? They said, if the bus service could be started as early as possible and electricity could be provided, they would get on with their lives, start economic activities. If an economy activity could begin, they thought, they could take charge of their life. The children were playing and one boy was singing a song. When we enquired we found that this boy has lost his father but was determined to move ahead. It was a great exposure for us, that when such a great tragedy has happened, people on their own are not helping themselves to receive things; but unfortunately, the way of giving in many cases were not dignified. The ideal way of giving is where the giver feels obliged. Again, many people who were distributing things, we felt, have not done their homework enough in terms of how the distribution should be organized. So the first concern that I had in the process of how we go about adopting either a village or an activity was that we must learn the basis of giving as we all know it; we all know that none of us would like to accept anything from anyone if the act of giving is not dignified. It is ingrained in our culture yet we forget it when we want to give it to someone. So, can the process of reconstruction in Kutch be dignified, can it be reciprocal? In other wants there is a great deal of learning to be made from the people of Kutch, and the foremost of them is that nobody is complaining even in the midst of a great tragedy. The situation is grim, no doubt about that, but what I want to emphasize is, the situation is not so grim as to sap the fortitude, sap their capacity to keep their morale high among the other people. It has not eroded their pride in themselves, there were a few villages where people refused to accept aid. There was  a doctor whose entire family was wiped out but he was saying: `I am now free; tell me what I should do, I will do it’. We have heard about a few people in Ahmedabad helping each other but unfortunately the media has not reported people in Kutch helping each other.

 

The second issue which is also important is, those of us who are in the corporate sector and who are going to avail tax benefits for the contribution are actually using part of the tax payer’s money. And without sense the act of giving is not your own but lot of other people in 
the society who otherwise would have benefited from the expenditure of cash revenues, which the government has received, have also contributed. So we should remember that we are not the real do-ers, we are only a conduit.   

In few places we did see lot of banners but I would not like to name those corporates who are supposed to have adopted villages. We wanted to see what they are doing and so we went around. I would say that `let the work of reconstruction itself speak for the corporates rather than the banners.’ The process has to made more dignified so that people would take about what the corporates have done. A good act never goes unrewarded in our society; first, the act itself is a reward.    

 

I want to show a small matrix our students have made (which is being improved of course) which will help us to consent when you complain about the government that its work is chaotic, it is not visible in the villages at the moment, which is true. But I am not willing to accept that it is beyond the capacity of the state of Gujarat whose growth is double that of 
Indian average, not to be able to manage things better. I would not go into what kind of improvements one can do generally but I would like to focus now on, `those of us who want to contribute to this process, what are the things that we could do and what are the features of adoption that we should 
keep in mind.’ Many people have suggested and in our group when we were discussing with the students during brainstorming, issue coming out time and again was `do we rehabilitate through supply route or demand route’.    

   

What the government does is, it follows the supply route and has its hands off after it. If houses are not 
there, they build them, if school is not there, they build it; that is all. After the 1956 earthquake, they left part of the village just like that; you can still see the damaged portion of the village. The houses that were damaged were left like that, people build their houses separately. Of course they did not have access to the science and technology, that is another issue. Can we incorporate the talent that is available in this country in science and technology, formal and informal, in the process of rehabilitation? CSIR had offered all its help; they said that, within twenty four hours any scientist they needed, would arrive at the site. And they arrived after seven days!

The first issue on rehabilitation is to `rehabilitate the community structures’, because the communities have been captured either because the people have left or because 
they are not able to contact each other since the shock was great and sudden. So, if you take the demand route, one thing that we could do is to see what are the activities that could be done there, which things you could procure: If there are economic activities, we can divert that region; if they can, they should. You can buy and give a buy back guarantee or buy back arrangement. So that economic system picks up. As I told you, the initial request that came from the villagers was restoration of power and starting of bus service. So, can we think not just about rehabilitating in physical 
terms but also economically, can we rehabilitate by looking at what functions, features like productive activities can be performed by the people? This will help in two ways: (i) When I am busy doing something I feel less about my sorrow. (ii) It will help other people come back.  

   

The second thing is, can we rebuild the communication information networks? This area has a very poor infrastructure. The number of telephone or the distribution of one telephone is one of the least provided-for in our state. So one of the things we must appreciate is, when we have to rebuild infrastructure, we should rebuild it in such a way that it has a density of access. My worry is that many of the corporations or companie